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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27158903">Road to Salvation: A Sweet Home Fan Story</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TGRickel/pseuds/TGRickel'>TGRickel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sweet Home (Manhwa)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Hyuk Lee, Hyun Cha - Freeform, Jayhun, Jisu Yoon, Monsters, Wook Pyeon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:14:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>57,954</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27158903</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TGRickel/pseuds/TGRickel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>My name is Dae-shim Chu. I'm an 18-year-old biochemist. Recently, I have been assigned on a mission to deliver my cure for monsterization to an unnamed town and help the monsters recover. However, I have to brave my way through the monster-infested streets. With the help of my newfound allies, especially my blood brother Hyun Cha, I will pave the road the salvation for all the people in this town.</p><p>A/N: Contains gore and swearing. I only own my OC. Sweet Home is property of Webtoon, Youngchan Hwang, and Carnby Kim. Also, there will be more than a few changes, like certain monsters and people being saved rather than killed.</p><p>Status: On Hiatus</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Moving In</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"<strong>WHAT... ARE YOU... DO... ING?!</strong>" a green sentient slime monster with intact eyeballs asked menacingly and threateningly.</p><p>"It's okay. I'm here to help you. Don't be afraid." a young man wearing a black hooded jacket, blue jeans, black army boots, blue-tinted glasses, a gas mask, and two bags (a green backpack with a wire jutting out and connected to the whip attached to his jeans and a beige shoulder bag filled with syringes, test tubes filled with a yellow serum and a first aid kit) assured as he slowly walked towards the slime monster. He then took out an unused syringe and a test tube of the monsterization cure.</p><p>"Now, this will hurt a bit but the serum will cure you," the young man said as he prepared the serum for the slime monster. It seemed to have calmed down as the young man injected the serum into it.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>Hey, everybody. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dae-shim Chu, and I'm 18 years old. I'm a biochemist who just recently created a cure for a disease that I have studied when I was 15 years old: monsterization. Today, I went to this town as I was assigned on a mission by my dad and his colleagues to help save the monsters and cure them of their disease. Wanna know why? It happened several weeks ago.</em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <strong> <span class="u">Dae-shim's POV</span> </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Several weeks ago...</strong>
</p><p>"Here's the last of them," I mumbled to myself as I placed in the last box in my room. I gotta say, the whole place is not too shabby, although it could use a little sprucing up.</p><p>Suddenly, I heard another loud strumming from the ceiling. Seriously, does anyone on the upper floor know the word 'quiet'? This has been going for days since I moved here.</p><p>I decided to call my dad to let him know where I am.</p><p>"Hey dad," you answered casually</p><p>"Hey, kid! How's your time there?" my dad, Kwang-min Chu, asked.</p><p>"I'm doing okay, I just unpacked the last of my things. What about you?" I asked</p><p>"I'm doing just fine," he commented before sighing. "I still can't believe you actually created a cure for monsterization all those past months."</p><p>"I know. I guess my cure was so effective when it comes to meticulous research, keen observation, and many years of trial and error. Fortunately, this cure would be more than enough to cure all the monsters in this town," I replied.</p><p>Dad chuckled on the other end before saying, "Yeah, son, but you need to know that my colleagues and I said that this mission is classified; you can't let anyone know. Anyway, why don't you keep me updated on your mission, maybe even send me some pictures if you're not busy."</p><p>"Will do, Dad. Bye!" I said, hanging up the phone and with nothing else to do, I thought it would be a good idea to walk around and explore now that everything I needed has been unpacked and put in their places. Who knows, maybe I'll even have a small talk with Mr. Kim, the security guard by the entrance. And so, I put my bag down and headed outside to go for a short walk. Of course, I ran into the aforementioned security guard.</p><p>"Hi, Mr. Kim!" I exclaimed, the older man smiled at you before moving out of your way</p><p>"Oh hello Dae-shim, sorry for blocking your way like that. I was just welcoming our new tenant." He responded, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the apartment next to mine. I was a little surprised to hear that I wasn't the only new neighbor in the building. I then noticed a piece of gauze in one of Mr. Kim's nostrils.</p><p>"Um... Mr. Kim, what's with the gauze? Fell down or something?" I asked.</p><p>He looked a little taken aback from your observation before smiling sheepishly.</p><p>"Oh, this? I think it's just from stress. You don't need to worry about it too much." He responded as I nodded in reply.</p><p>"I'm so sorry you aren't feeling well. My dad always gets stressed at work but at least he knows to keep things cool. I think you should think about taking a day off, you deserve it!"</p><p>Mr. Kim was surprised by what I said, but I wasn't gonna ask him about that.</p><p>"Well, I'm going to go say 'hi' to my new neighbor. Remember what I said," I finished as I walked over to the door beside mine.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong> <span class="u">Hyun's POV</span> </strong>
</p><p>I laid on the floor as I watched the TV, not really paying attention to what's happening. "This is so boring..." I mumbled to myself, suddenly hearing the tapping of shoes in the hallway.</p><p>I sat up and listened to the footsteps get closer.</p><p><em>'What's that? That boy next door?'</em> I thought, an image of the same douchebag from my old school making my eyebrows furrow with resentment.</p><p>Suddenly, I jumped at the knocking at my door. Reluctantly, I stood up and answered it, barely cracking open the door as I peek my face out halfway. There in front of me was a boy. He had brown hair, a bit scruffier than mine, and green eyes that can outshine the dense forest. He is also wearing a blue, white, and grey jacket with rolled-up sleeves over his black shirt, white cropped pants, and black and white open-toed sandals. If I'm honest, if that guy was a douchebag like the one from my school, I'd beat him to a pulp.</p><p>"Hi!" he began, "My name is Dae-shim Chu, I just moved in about a week ago. You just moved in today right?"</p><p>"Yeah. I did." I mumbled while nodding slightly, I don't think he heard me the first time because he had a look of confusion on her face before finally realizing what I said, then he smiled.</p><p>"Well, it's nice to meet you. What's your name?" the boy asked politely.</p><p>"Hyun..." I mumbled again, though it was barely above a whisper.</p><p>"I'm sorry... can you repeat that? I can't understand you," Dae-shim asked.</p><p>"Hyun Cha," I spoke, a little louder than usual, causing Dae-shim to smile.</p><p>"I'll be sure to remember that," he told me.</p><p>I didn't know what else to say, I wanted to continue the conversation but I just began to feel tenser and tenser as every second passes.</p><p>"So... how old are you?" he suddenly asked.</p><p>"18." I responded before asking, "Um... you?"</p><p>"Same here," Dae-shim replied. I was a bit surprised that he was the same age as me.</p><p>"So... what makes you wanna move here," I asked again.</p><p>"I was gonna sign up for this college I want to study in," Dae-shim replied before adding. Well, I better leave you alone. I'm sure you still need to unpack. We should talk more sometimes, I would like to become friends with you."</p><p>I was taken aback by what he said.</p><p><em>'...Be my friend?'</em> I thought, feeling shocked. <em>'When was the last time I had a friend?'</em></p><p>"U-Uh...Y-Yeah I would like that.." I mumbled awkwardly.</p><p>"I'll see you around then, I'm going to explore the apartment since I haven't had a chance. I'll talk to you later!" he finished and hurried away. I watched him leave until he entered the elevator down the hall and disappeared.</p><p>I closed the door and went back to watching TV. An image of Dae-shim appeared in my head, the way he smiled made my stomach feel like it was doing backflips. My imagination soon began wandering as an image of her backside came into my mind, making me sweat profusely as I quickly shook my head.</p><p>"Ahh, no! Stop thinking like that!" I scolded myself, face still burning from my own tension.</p><p>"Next door... is some guy my age, who is not really a douchebag as I thought he was. Well...this place isn't all bad. Might as well get used to it..." I muttered.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Legend:</strong>
</p><p>"..." - normal conversation, sign language</p><p><em>'...'</em> - thoughts</p><p><em>"..."</em> - conversation in flashback, dream, inner voice</p><p>"<strong>...</strong>" - monster</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Feel free to bookmark this story and leave your comments and kudos but REMEMBER: NO signs of negativity or any profanity; this is the first time I wrote a fanfiction story based on a manhwa (Korean comics). You know I despise both of these.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Trouble Begins</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Dae-shim's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>It's been over a week since I finally settled in my apartment. For days, I continued doing normal activities in public places. And every night, I kept my dad updated about what has happened within these 2 weeks. Fortunately for me, no one had suspected of me and my motives and honestly? This place wasn't that bad. Sure, I met some annoying people in the apartment, but for the most part, everyone else was some pretty nice and decent people.</p><p>I still remember my first meeting with Hyun. Ever since that day, we only had small talk whenever he goes out to do meager things. He seemed uninterested in talking to me as he quickly tried to end the conversation before it would even start. But I didn't mind. After all, people like Hyun just need some time to adjust to their surroundings and their neighbors.</p><hr/><p>As I prepared myself to buy more groceries, I suddenly took a whiff from the air and realized the I can smell smoke. Then, I heard the sound of the clunking. I headed upstairs to see an older man attempting to pull the gate open.</p><p>"...Well, fuck it then. Your fault for locking the roof," He mumbled, lighting his cigarette and making a frown to appear on my face.</p><p>"Um, sir, I don't think you can smoke in here," I piped up, causing the man to turn around raise an eyebrow at me.</p><p>"Yeah, what Dae-shim said!" a familiar voice agreed, I look over and see Eun, one of my neighbors, approaching the stairwell as she stood right by me. She frowned and looked up at me.</p><p>"It was him, Dae-shim! Mr. Mobster has been leaving his cigarette butts all around the place!" she exclaimed.</p><p>"Me? Every day?" The man exclaimed, looking at Eun offendedly.</p><p>"So <span class="u">you're</span> the one who's been leaving cigarettes all over the place?" I asked.</p><p>"I've never smoked in here! And, wait a minute! I'm not a thug!" he answered.</p><p>"Then what are you?" Eun asked, the man looked in thought for a moment as he thought, causing a small smirk to appear on his face.</p><p>"Hmm... a goodfella?"</p><p>"Really now?" I wasn't buying that. "You do know that there are 'No Smoking' signs in the building. Though I can't blame you since the cage door is locked."</p><p>"Hmph, you're damn right!" He piped up.</p><p>Eun leaned to the side to get a better look at the door.</p><p>"Why did they lock the door anyway?" She asked to no one in particular.</p><p>"How should I know? Anyways, what are you both doing up here?" He asked, looking at me first.</p><p>"I'm going to buy groceries," I replied as we both looked at Eun for her answer until I noticed the lighter in her hand, much to my shock.</p><p>"Eun, wait-" I exclaimed, causing Eun to scramble down the stairs.</p><p>"You under-aged brat! Who are you to preach about smoking?!" The man bellowed as we both went after her down the steps, making her turn her head to us as she ran.</p><p>"Mind your own business!" she yelled.</p><p>"Oh yeah? Well, I'm telling your brother that you're smoking!" I yelled back, causing her to quickly stop in her tracks and turn towards me, and the man, a cheerful smile spreads onto her face.</p><p>"Pardon me, good sirs, may I offer you a burger?"</p><p>The man and I looked at each other, obviously not impressed before we looked back at Eun and dragged her to her apartment, her complaining all the way there.</p><p>"Sorry, Eun, but this is for your fucking own good!" I said.</p><hr/><p>The rest of the day went on smoothly as I went to the store to buy groceries and stacked them either in the cupboard, in the fridge, or in the minibar. I even visited the Lees' apartment. After me and Wook Pyeon (the man from earlier whose name I found out) told Hyuk about Eun's smoking plans, he invited me in as Wook decided to try the cage again where I saw Hyuk unleash the biggest and most epic lecture down onto his sister. To describe it, I know Eun won't try to attempt smoking again. I eventually left to my own apartment, after having a few laughs and a few snacks and soda with Hyuk, I decided I had enough of a break and said my goodbyes to the two siblings.</p><p>Once I entered my apartment, I immediately sat at my desk and started writing in my journal before hearing a slam, causing me to jump and look up from my textbook as I listened carefully.</p><p>"<strong>Open the fuck up, you fucking retard,</strong>" A voice hissed, causing more banging to be heard. "<strong>I'm starving to death!</strong>"</p><p>I quickly jumped away from the door, my eyes wide as my heart thumped rapidly.</p><p>"What's going on? What on Earth is that?" I thought, the voice practically giving me the creeps</p><p>Suddenly, a heard a familiar sound from above.</p><p><em>'It's thought that loud music again...'</em> I thought before I quickly turned the security camera by my door on and looked out.</p><p>"<strong>Food..?</strong>" the voice hissed, causing a girl to lumber into the view of my camera. Her appearance made my heart stop. She looked horrifying. Blood dripped from her mouth, eyes, and nose, her eyes were bloodshot and sunken in, her arms a sickly brown color with grotesquely long nails. Though, that's not what scared me the most. She had this wide, blood-stained, toothy smile that shook me to the very core.</p><p>Another jump came from me as I heard hard knocks on my door. I came out of my daze and saw Hyun looking at the security camera, a terrified look on his face as he quickly looked around, holding the handle part of a mop.</p><p>I hesitantly opened the door, causing him to quickly look at me.</p><p>"H-Have..." He mumbled, looking unsure of himself as he gulped.</p><p>"D-Did you see it-?" He asked again, putting emphasis on the word "It".</p><p>I stared at him, unsure of what to say before looking down the hallway, my eyes widen in horror as I see bloodied footprints leading to the stairs.</p><p>"Y-You did didn't you?" He asked, more frantically this time as he searched for any confirmation on my face.</p><p>Suddenly, we both froze as we heard loud footsteps getting closer and closer from the stairway nearby. I quickly grabbed the baseball bat that I kept for safety and stood next to Hyun, both of us ready to attack.</p><p>"Damn! The elevator's not working again," Wook said as he came down the stairs.</p><p>"It's one damn thing after another!" He kept on complaining, causing Hyun and I to stare at him in shock.</p><p>He must have felt us staring because he looked over and gave us a weird look.</p><p>"...What the hell are you two doing?" He asked, eyeing our weapons.</p><p>"Um... I... uh..." I tried to say something, but for some reason, I couldn't.</p><p>Wook laughed, coming closer to us while smiling.</p><p>"You two look like you're ready for a fight! Is that what happened? You gonna kick someone's ass?" He joked, though once he noticed the absurd amount of blood on the floor, his smile quickly disappeared. I watched as his eyes followed the blood trail to an apartment, where more blood can be seen seeping into a larger puddle.</p><p>He looked at the both of us, his gaze murderous as he threateningly towered over us.</p><p>"What the fuck is this?" He asked coldly.</p><p>"I-It's not what you think-!" Hyun stuttered, we both backed away as Wook approached us menacingly.</p><p>"What the hell did you do?" He asked once more, causing Hyun to look even more panicked as he failed to explain himself.</p><p>"HAVE YOU SEEN A MONSTER ANYWHERE?!" I blurted suddenly, causing both of them to look at me. Wook looked at me with a blank expression.</p><p>"What?" Wook asked, not catching what I said.</p><p>"Yes, a mon... a monster. We saw it headed for the stairway," Hyun replied.</p><p>"Have you seen it, Wook?" I asked as Wook remained silent.</p><p>"A...monster?" He asked, looking at us as if he was waiting for either me or Hyun to start laughing.</p><p>"Yes, that thing... it looked just like that girl next door," Hyun stammered in fright.</p><p>"It had that girl's blonde hair but... her face! It looks really... really... creepy," I added.</p><p>When he noticed we were still looking at him with the same terrified expression, he sighed in an irritating way before raising his hand to attempt to hit Hyun and me.</p><p>"ARE YOU GODDAMN KIDDING ME!?" He shouted, causing me and Hyun to flinch in shock.</p><p>I then recalled a memory from my childhood. I remember my real mother and her 'friends' in our old house and a few of them even beaten me to a pulp.</p><p>Soon Wook looked shocked, I looked at Hyun and saw his nose beginning to bleed.</p><p>"Hyun, you're bleeding!" I exclaimed in shock.</p><p>"I haven't even hit you yet," Wook mumbled, only for Hyun to collapse, causing me to quickly grab him before he could hit the floor.</p><p>"Hyun! Hang on!" I shouted, shaking him as his eyes began to close, a distant look on his face.</p><p>"What the hell is wrong with him?!" Wook asked, kneeling down beside me as I rested Hyun's head on my lap for support.</p><p>"He just keeps bleeding!" Wook exclaimed, astonished on how much blood was pouring out of Hyun's nose.</p><p>"Wook, help me get him into his apartment, please!" I begged, looking at him with pleading eyes.</p><p>He looked at me, seeing Hyun, still unconscious and bleeding.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Dream (Hyun's POV)</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>From what I can see, everything around is nothing but vast darkness. Suddenly, I heard a voice coming from out of nowhere.</p><p>"Hey, Hyun. I won't tell anyone... So, I hope you could be a little honest with me. I'm another you that exists within yourself. You and I are the same but different and different but also the same. One thing that is for sure is... I'm on your side. So, please tell me. What is it that you want?"</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Reality - Hyun's room (3rd Person POV)</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>Hyun suddenly woke up with a jolt. He then looked around and noticed he was inside back in his own room.</p><p>"That was... one hell of a dream..." Hyun muttered as he scratched his head.</p><p>"Uh... Hyun?" Dae-shim asked as Hyun turned to his direction.</p><p>"DAE-SHIM!" Hyun was surprised that his other next-door neighbor is inside his room. "What are you doing in my room?!"</p><p>"We had to carry you back to your room. I decided to stay here for a while just to keep an eye on you," Dae-shim replied in a cold sweat.</p><p>"Hmm..." Hyun trailed before he checked his phone and noticed that the phone battery is dead. After charging it, he then turned on his computer and decided to play online games to forget about the dream. He tried turning on World of Apocalypse but was unable to connect due to the failed server. He then tried on Evil Gun and Order Attack, but both couldn't connect either.</p><p>"What's wrong, Hyun?" Dae-shim asked.</p><p>"It seems that the games I play can't even connect. Did they all go on a strike together...? This is ridiculous."</p><p>"Try checking the internet," Dae-shim requested before heading to open the windows.</p><p>Hyun did so and opened the browser.</p><p>"The internet's working, though. But why is it so slow?" Hyun wondered before noticing something that says 'Early Symptoms of Monsterization'. He clicked it and was shocked at what he saw:</p><p>1. Early symptoms of monsterization</p><p>2. Auditory hallucination</p><p>3. Monster's weakness</p><p>4. How to make a barricade</p><p>5. Hoarding</p><p>6. Biohazard</p><p>7. Extinction of mankind</p><p>8. How to recover cellular</p><p>9. Internet-enabled area</p><p>10. Safe area</p><p>11. Cure for monsterization possible?</p><p>"Uh... Hyun?" Dae-shim called his neighbor's attention. "I think you should see this."</p><p>Hyun went to the window and saw numerous buildings around town, all burning to the ground.</p><p><em>'So it wasn't a dream?'</em> Hyun thought as he and Dae-shim looked on in shock. Little did they know that Hyun's began to bleed again.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Amidst the Chaos</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>(A/N: This happens during Episode 2.)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Jisu's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Flashback Start</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <em>Mr. Kim gave me a bottle of orange juice and said, "If you need help with anything, you can contact us, at the security office."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Haha, okay. Thanks.." I replied as I took the bottle of orange juice. "By the way, sir~"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yes?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Does this place have soundproof walls?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>After I headed back to my apartment, I tried to come up with a new song, but for some reason, I couldn't.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Eh~ What a lame song to cover... Totally not my style."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>'Ok, I'll just cut the corners!' I thought to myself as I put the last of my cigarette.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Crap, that was the last one," I muttered when I noticed I'm all out cigarettes so I grabbed my guitar and headed outside to buy more cigarettes.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As I head to the elevator, I encountered a nice woman with a baby in a stroller.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh, have you just moved in?" the woman asked.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yes, it's the apartment 1510..." I replied. "So nice to meet you!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That was when I heard her baby crying.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh, it's ok, sweetie. No need to be startled. She's your neighbor." the woman reassured her baby daughter.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"How old is your baby?" I asked.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"She's a 12-month-old princess," the woman replied.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I noticed that there is nothing in the stroller but a small white piece of cloth.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Isn't she lovely?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I decided to humor her since I felt that she's in denial that she didn't have a baby.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Well... absolutely..." I replied as the elevator doors opened and the woman entered it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You're not getting in?" she asked me.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Well, haha," I said while scratching my head (I was lying). "I, I left my wallet."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'll the hold the elevator for you then."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No need. I'll catch the next one."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And with that, the elevator doors closed as I stood on my spot, thinking about that empty stroller.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"...What's wrong with her?" I muttered to myself.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"A poor lady, isn't she?" I heard a voice nearby. I turned to the corner of my eyes and noticed a fine man in a nice suit and glasses.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"A year ago, while she wasn't paying attention, the baby stroller slid down the road and the baby... got..." the man trailed off as he thought mentioning the baby's fate would be unpleasant. "Ever since then, she's become like that."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Uh... that's too bad," I can't help but feel sympathetic for that woman.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"The Lord sometimes gives something very hard to overcome, but a person shouldn't be criticized or be an object of fear for not being able to overcome such difficulties," the man continued.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I agree."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It's God's will."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Well, I'm not so sure about that."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The man stuck out his hand and said, "You just moved into apartment 1510, right? I'm Jayhun from apartment 1506."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Then, there was a brief and awkward silence between us as I didn't shake his hand.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Haha," Jayhun chuckled nervously. "Maybe I was too ahead of myself. I'm sorry if you got offended."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh, no. My hands... right now... smell like cigarettes," I reassured him as a showed my hand to prove my point. "You can call me Jisu!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As the elevator doors opened again, we entered and continued our conversation.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Do you play the guitar?" Jayhun asked me.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It's a bass," I replied.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I see..." Jayhun mused.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"How about you?" I asked him this time. "What do you do for a living?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Well... I'm a Korean teacher," he answered. "And since its Sunday... I'm going to church right now..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh~ I see. You're a devout Christian!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Soon enough, we got outside and Jayhun boarded a taxi to church.</em>
</p><p><em>'He's gentle, kind, and good looking,'</em> <em>I thought to myself before saying out loud. "So opposite of Haerang..."</em></p><p>
  <em>I remember my time with my old boyfriend.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"...But. still... Haerang's way cooler."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As I continued walking, I noticed a boy passing by, but I paid him no mind.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Flashback End</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>I was just busy strumming my bass when I heard the doorbell ringing.</p><p>"Crap," I sweat dropped out of worry. "Maybe I was too loud."</p><p>I then facepalmed myself as I cursed in my thoughts, <em>'I should've kept it down! I got too excited!'</em></p><p>The doorbell kept on ringing and I can't stand it anymore.</p><p>"Ok. I'm coming," I replied as I plopped my bass on my bed and turned on the security camera, not paying attention to what was on the other side of the door.</p><p>"Oh, I'm sorry. The security guard told me that no one currently lives next doors, so I know I shouldn't be making excuses, but... uh... was it too loud?" I said before noticing a girl with sunken eyes and blood from her eye sockets, nose, and mouth.</p><p>"<strong>I... NEE... D... FOOD...</strong>" she moaned.</p><p>"I beg your pardon?" I asked.</p><p>"<strong>STAR...VI...NG,</strong>" she moaned again.</p><p>"What happened to your face? Are you hurt?" I asked again.</p><p>Suddenly, there was a loud banging from my door which made me nervous like hell.</p><p>"What the..." I piped up before panicking. "I'm really sorry! I'll keep it down from now on! So please..."</p><p>As I was relieved that the noise died down, the banging returned. This time, it was louder and denting my door even further.</p><p>"AARG-! What the beck?!" I panicked again before I grabbed my bass to defend myself. I realized what I was gonna do to my prized possession so I decided to grab a baseball bat instead.</p><p>"If you keep this up, I'll call the police!" I exclaimed as I brandished my bat. And that was when the noise stopped again.</p><p>"Is she... gone?" I asked myself out of worry and relief.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Wook's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>As I headed upstairs, I noticed that the door of Apartment 1510 has been dented and stained with blood. The nearby tiles are also stained with the same red liquid. I remembered my encounter with those two boys.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Flashback Start (3rd Person POV)</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <em>"A...monster?" Wook asked, looking at Hyun and Dae-shim as if he was waiting for either of them to start laughing.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yes, that thing... it looked just like that girl next door," Hyun stammered in fright.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It had that girl's blonde hair but... her face! It looks really... really... creepy," Dae-shim added.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When Wook noticed that the two boys were still looking at him with the same terrified expression, he sighed irritatingly before raising his hand to attempt to hit them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"ARE YOU GODDAMN KIDDING ME!?" Wook shouted, causing Dae-shim and Hyun to flinch in shock.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Soon Wook looked shocked, Dae-shim looked at Hyun and saw his nose beginning to bleed.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hyun, you're bleeding!" Dae-shim exclaimed in shock.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I haven't even hit you yet," Wook mumbled, only for Hyun to collapse, causing Dae-shim to quickly grab him before he could hit the floor.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hyun! Hang on!" he shouted, shaking his neighbor as his eyes began to close, a distant look on his face.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What the hell is wrong with him?!" Wook asked, kneeling beside me as Dae-shim rested Hyun's head on his lap for support.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"He just keeps bleeding!" Wook exclaimed, astonished on how much blood was pouring out of Hyun's nose.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Wook, help me get him into his apartment, please!" Dae-shim begged, looking at him with pleading eyes.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Wook looked at him, seeing Hyun, still unconscious and bleeding before loud thuds emanated from upstairs.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Just give me a while. I'll be right back," Wook said as he ran up the stairs to the 15th floor.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Flashback End</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Wook Pyeon's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p><em>'So I came up and saw this. Just what the hell's going on?'</em> I thought as I hid behind a corner.</p><p>I then looked around and saw a broken window at the end of the hall. Just then, the door of Apartment 1510 opened as the lady who made that loud music came out.</p><p>"Huh? Mr. Mobster?" the lady was surprised at my presence.</p><p>"Stop calling me that. I'm a good fella," I said as I held in my anger before asking. "Are you okay, noise-causing lady?"</p><p>She then noticed blood all over the floor.</p><p>"What the heck is happening here?" the noise-causing lady asked. "Hey, have you seen the young lady who was just banging on my door? There was blood all over her face."</p><p>"A young lady?" I repeated in confusion as I remember those two boys said to me a while ago.</p><p>"HAVE YOU SEEN A MONSTER ANYWHERE?!"</p><p>"It looked just like that girl next door..."</p><p>"Please step back," I said to the lady before I punched the door. I then glanced at the broken window before saying, "Stop bullshitting!"</p><p>"I'm telling you the truth..." the lady said.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Dae-shim's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>I was waiting patiently for Wook as I tried to keep Hyun's head elevated on my lap. Just then, Wook finally went back down along with a girl a bit older than me or Hyun. After this, we headed to his apartment as Wook placed Hyun on his bed and then call the ambulance.</p><p>"So, what's your name?" the girl asked me.</p><p>"I'm Dae-shim Chu, 18 years old," I answered. "And you are?"</p><p>"Jisu Yoon. 20 years old. Nice to meet you, Dae-shim," the girl, now named Jisu Yoon, replied.</p><p>"Ditto," I nodded before looking back at Huyn.</p><p>"How long has he been unconscious?" Jisu asked me.</p><p>"For a few minutes," I replied.</p><p>"I can't call 911," Wook said as he hung up on his phone.</p><p>"Then, what do we do to this boy? Maybe we should call the police instead..." Jisu suggested.</p><p>"We can't call the police either," Wook interrupted. "I think it's a problem with the network carrier. I can't make a call at all."</p><p>"I can't even call my dad either," I mused as I charged my phone.</p><p>Jisu checked on Hyun, "He's breathing okay. He seems he just fell asleep."</p><p>"Well, he suddenly collapsed. What should I do? It wouldn't be easy to carry him all the way down 14 floors and take him to the hospital. On top of that, the elevator shut down," Wook said.</p><p>"The security guard's not answering," Jisu added. "Maybe, I should go to the security office myself."</p><p>"I'm coming, too, Jisu," I agreed.</p><p>"No," Wook contradicted. "If something really is in this building, it's dangerous for both of you to go alone. You've seen the door and the pools of blood now, right? That could never be caused by a human."</p><p>"Then what should we do?" Jisu asked.</p><p>"I'll go to the security office, so you two wait here for now," Wook said as he headed out.</p><p>For a while, Jisu and I had to wait for Wook to come back. We tried to keep ourselves entertained but after much time has passed, we eventually got bore. I then noticed Jisu grabbing her metal baseball bat and headed out there.</p><p>"You coming?" she asked.</p><p>"Nah, you go on ahead, Jisu. I'll just stay here and keep on eye on him," I replied as Jisu nodded and closed the door.</p><p>More time has passed, and I'm seriously getting bored with nothing to do but watch over Hyun and waiting for my phone to charge.</p><p><em>'Seriously! Where are they?'</em> I thought irritably, getting tired of waiting around for the older man. I sighed, casting my attention over to Hyun. Luckily, his nose stopped bleeding for the past several minutes.</p><p>Screams erupted from within the building, causing me to jump and rush to the door to see what's going on. All my neighbors rushed up from downstairs, trampling over one another and pushing as they rushed to their apartments.</p><p>From what I can tell, there something scary going on outside. Instead of going out the door to check, I just looked at the window. The town outside was barely lit with the lampposts. Looking down at the street, I saw a crowd of monsters slowly shuffling themselves along, with several of them attempting to break into the apartment building's entrance.</p><p><em>'God... I can't believe that there are more monsters in this town than I realize,'</em> I mentally panicked. <em>'And I doubt my serum can cure all those monsters.'</em></p><p>
  <strong>2 days later...</strong>
</p><p>It's been two days. TWO DAYS. Even though it appears to be short, it still felt more like an eternity in this shithole. Once Wook left to head to the security office, and Jisu left a while later, that's when all hell broke loose in a single night. A never-ending nightmare that took place in my new home.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. A Blind Eye</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Hyun's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>I can't believe all of this had happened while I was asleep. First, there was this monster attacking the building, and now, the whole town is going up in flames.</p><p>"Hyun, you're bleeding again," Dae-shim pointed to my nose and I wiped the blood off. I then turned on the computer and noticed that it was October 5, much to my shock.</p><p><em>'Did I pass out for two days?'</em> I thought to myself as Dae-shim sat nearby.</p><p>"Let's check for news online," Dae-shim said before we began scanning some websites for updates. Just then, both of us are shocked at we saw: articles about the monsterization phenomenon, updates on monster-related casualties, a video about a man witnessing a ten-foot monster before being burned in the face by the monster's acid spit, and another video about the president of the human-monsterization crisis addressing his people to stay indoors, to stock on essentials, and to drive carefully, while reassuring that the government will handle the crisis; all before he started bleeding and fainting.</p><p>"This is really fucked up..." I trailed with worry before I grabbed the mop handle and prepared myself to go outside As soon as my hand was inches from the doorknob...</p><p><em>"What is it, Hyun? Do you wanna be a hero in the world full of monsters?"</em> that same mysterious voice from the dream taunted.</p><p>"Wake up," I said to myself as I set the mop handle aside headed back.</p><p>"W-what happened?" Dae-shim scratched the back of his neck and looked away.</p><p>"I-I don't know. The most I know is everyone's been turning into monsters, just like the girl next door," my stomach growled and the two of us looked at each other.</p><p>"Well, it seems that you haven't eaten in a while either, huh? You don't have any food here," Dae-shim pointed out.</p><p>I picked up my phone, "The world isn't over yet since the internet's still working, I could still have the food delivered."</p><p>"But the phones aren't-"</p><p>Suddenly the phone blared in my ear.</p><p>"Oww!" I pulled the phone away from my face. "I guess not" I sighed, tossing it on the bed.</p><p>I remembered the box of ramen delivered to my door 2 days ago and ransacked by the monster we witnessed.</p><p>"Forget being a hero, let's just find some food," I said as I headed to the door again before I felt Dae-shim's hand on my shoulder.</p><p>"I don't think that's a good idea," he advised as I knew he was against the idea.</p><p>I glared at him and shoved his hand off my shoulder.</p><p>"Would you rather starve to death? You're the one who stayed in my room, you don't get to tell me what to do," I yelled at Dae-shim, with him a bit taken aback. I turned back to the door and decide to open it</p><p><em>'It was right in front of the door. If someone didn't pick them up...'</em> I thought before I realized something. <em>'No, wait. In a crisis like this, it can't still be lying around there for two days.'</em></p><p>As I opened the door, I was met by a horrifying sight.</p><p>I froze on my spot and I can tell that Dae-shim is as horrified as I am. I felt the blood drain from my face and a lump form in my throat.</p><p>I have never stopped breathing so fast before in my life.</p><p>The monster creepily turned its head towards the two of us. That's when I noticed that it was missing the top half of its head.</p><p>The left side of its body was not covered with skin, with the muscles visible.</p><p>"<strong>I... heee... ard... a... sooo... und...</strong>" its voice was raspy and breathy as if it had trouble breathing.</p><p>The monster turned his body towards us, taking a step forward. I was so terrified I almost puked on the spot. I positioned to the nearby wall, covered my mouth, and motioned Dae-shim to hide by the corner and stay quiet.</p><p>The monster stomped towards the bed, "<strong>I ca...n't... se..e...</strong>" he stopped walking, "<strong>I can...'t...se...e...</strong>"</p><p>The boy turned his head to look at the monster, "<strong>I... caaaa..n't... se...see...</strong>" it repeated, gritting its teeth.</p><p>My eyes watered as I looked over at the monster, drool dripped from its mouth as he screamed angrily, "<strong>I.. caaaaan'..tt... see..!</strong>"</p><p><em>'How long has it been since someone besides Dae-shim entered into my room?'</em> I thought out of fear.</p><p>The monster started foaming at the mouth, "<strong>..No...o... Can'...t se...e...</strong>"</p><p>I looked away and clenched my eyes shut.</p><p><em>'Monster... It's a real monster... Damn it... I can't... I can't move my body...!'</em> I mentally said as I felt my body tremble.</p><p>I noticed it rummaging through my bed while Dae-shim quickly but quietly shuffled from his hiding spot to me.</p><p>
  <em>'Is it blind? Half of his face was gone... Did someone chop that off?'</em>
</p><p>I looked at the mop handle and motioned Dae-shim to get his bat ready.</p><p>
  <em>'If so... maybe... we might be able to kill it.'</em>
</p><p>And so, Dae-shim and I readied our weapons.</p><p>
  <em>'If we hit his neck from behind,... it would surely work...!'</em>
</p><p>Suddenly, my phone and Dae-shim's phone began to ring and that's when we realize that we were charging our phones. The monster then began attacking the blanket with its arm, releasing spikes from under the covers and causing my phone to fall to the ground.</p><p>
  <em>'Forget it. Let's just get our phones once that monster is gone.'</em>
</p><p>I motioned Dae-shim to follow me to the bathroom and as we head inside, Dae-shim locked the door quietly.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Dae-shim's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>Hours passed as Hyun and I laid on the floor in silence. We listened as the monster shuffled around the room, occasionally knocking over some furniture from time to time. We even had to drink from the tap since we were so thirsty. Hyun suddenly flinched, tensing up as a look of mortification spread onto his face. I noticed his tenseness and turned towards him.</p><p>"What's wrong?" I whispered, sitting up slightly as Hyun did the same thing.</p><p>"I...I need to pee..." he answered.</p><p>"Well, can you hold it in? We don't want the monster to find us," I replied, watching as Hyun quickly shook his head before approaching the toilet.</p><p>As Hyun did his business, he began to feel tired as he began to doze off.</p><p>The noise of his business quickly awakened Hyun as his eyes widened in fear, attempting to quickly pull up his pants to stop any more noise.</p><p>"<strong>Aarr...you...the...re...?</strong>"</p><p>Before we could react, a fleshy appendage breaks through the door and hits the mirror, barely missing Hyun by an inch. They froze in place, careful not to move or make a sound as spikes burst from the appendage and became many, hitting everything in the bathroom but us.</p><p>...</p><p>...</p><p>...</p><p>The appendages slowly pulled back into one, barely brushing against them as it left the bathroom.</p><p>"<strong>Not...the...re...</strong>" The monster hissed, it then stomped its way towards the door, exited, and made its way down the hall.</p><p>Hyun and I collapsed in fear and relief, looking at each other with wide eyes at the realization of the terrible fate we were almost met with. Hyun quietly scurried outside and grabbed a few pouches of ramen noodles for us to eat.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Harsh Reality</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Dae-shim's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>A while later, we decided to eat dinner with the ramen noodles Hyun retrieved from the hallway. I even added some of my remaining food so we wouldn't starve while sleeping. After this, we placed our plates, bowls, spoons, chopsticks, and the pot on the sink, and I headed back to my room. I then slept under my bed since I couldn't risk letting that blind monster killing me in my sleep. I had a feeling that Hyun was doing the same thing as well.</p><p>
  <strong>The next day...</strong>
</p><p>I woke up from my sleep and decide to see what is happening outside. Upon opening the window, I noticed many people resting on the roofs of all the still-intact buildings.</p><p><em>'I can't believe this is all too real...' </em>I contemplated on these last few days. <em>'Even in normal buildings, monsters are lurking within. It's just like Darwin said: survival of the fittest. The world outside this room is dangerous.'</em></p><p>"I just wish this was all over once I cure all the monsters in this town," I said to myself out loud, before I noticed another monster outside. This one had a grotesquely long neck and an oversized head covered in eyes.</p><p>"Goddamn, that is freaky," I said as closed the window and curtains.</p><p>Later that day, I went to Hyun's room again.</p><p>"So how do we survive in a crisis like this?" I asked.</p><p>"Hmm..." Hyun pondered before turning to the computer. "I'm pretty there is an online survival guide here that we can read."</p><p>He clicked an article that read "Bear Gurylls's apocalypse survival blog", slowly scrolling to the latest news as we began to read.</p><p>
  <strong>The Government has actually announced "NO MEASURE" in this monsterization situation, which we do not know exactly when it started. The president seems he's already been monsterized.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>He no longer shows himself in public.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>And it seems that all senior government officials have been monsterized. The government is now unable to provide any kind of help.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Yes, that's right.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>After all, the zombie apocalypse was only possible in movies... No I mean, the era of monster apocalypse is here. I always knew mankind would go extinct someday, but what annoys me is that why it has to come in our generation and why in this form. A nuclear explosion or a meteorite crash would've been much better since we'd die in an instance without feeling any pain.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>I've already not been able to eat proper food for three days. There are so many monsters near my house. I'll get killed immediately if I get out, man... I miss my mom's food... Well, actually I think my parents are also monsterized because they aren't picking their phones for 5 days.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>I know I should feel sad, but I'm not even sad anymore. It's not clearly known that monsters have certain attributes, which blocks all wireless transmissions around them. That means wired services such as wired communication and wired internet are still working (in some areas only). If monsters aren't nearby, it's possible that even wireless communications are working...</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>But the block range is 50 meters per each monster, so if you're living in a densely populated area and not in a rural area, wireless communications are virtually impossible... well... these all don't matter much now.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>If they were like zombies, we could just avoid their bites. But this damn monsterization starts inside of you out of nowhere. Early symptoms include frequent nosebleeds, frequent hallucinations, excessive appetite, and frequent fainting.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>If you have these symptoms, I recommend that you jump off quietly from a rooftop. Because it means it's already progressing.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>They start talking to your inner consciousness inside of your body. They're so eager to get out. Anyway... let's endure this together.</strong>
</p><p>"What the...?" I gasped as Hyun and I continued to read in shock.</p><p>
  <strong>There are rumors online that a cure exists, or one should drink Coke mixed with hydrogen peroxide, or if a certain medicine is injected, one can become immune, or there's a safe area in Jeju Island, but you shouldn't listen to any of this. In conclusion, we're all completely fucked.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>I hope everyone has a safe day.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>If you have symptoms, please just kill yourself. Your very existence is just harmful to everyone else.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>-My Survival Record, October 6th-</strong>
</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Hyun's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>That last few passages made me physically sick.</p><p>"That's too harsh, you bastard," I said with slight anger in his voice</p><p>"I can't believe that whoever wrote this is so inhumane," Dae-shim agreed.</p><p>I then checked my phone calendar and looked at a specific date: October 25, the day I planned to kill myself.</p><p>"I am supposed to die in 19 days anyways," I said to myself before I put the phone on my desk, slumped on my seat, and thought about the funeral several days ago.</p><p>
  <em>'At least, you guys died as humans. I...'</em>
</p><p>Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by loud tapping from my window. Dae-shim approached the window and parted the curtains. We discovered that we were facing the monster I saw this morning. It then lowered its neck as it slithers away from our line of sight.</p><p>"What the hell is that?" I was shocked at what we saw.</p><p>"I don't know, but I think I saw that monster this morning," Dae-shim pointed out.</p><p>"You saw that, too?" I asked as Dae-shim nodded.</p><p>
  <strong>The next day...</strong>
</p><p>After I woke up, I checked the fridge and noticed it was nearly empty of food.</p><p>"Phew," I sighed as I sat down on my chair and turned my computer on. It was October 7.</p><p><em>'I might not even survive until 25th. So the question is, will I get killed by a monster or become a monster myself? Come to think of it, who was that guy...? Well, who cares...'</em> I thought to myself as I checked the website about my favorite series.</p><p>"Hmm... it's still working," I mused while looking at the date of the finale's release (October 25).</p><p>"25th... the long-awaited finale of 'Maria from the Sky'."</p><p>That was when Dae-shim entered my room.</p><p>"You didn't sleep at all, did you?" he asked</p><p>I glanced back at the computer, silent for a moment before looking back at Dae-shim.</p><p>"Have you ever heard of 'Maria From The Sky'?" I asked, avoiding the question.</p><p>"Of course. That's all I would watch whenever I had free time, from my studies," Dae-shim confessed, a sheepish smile coming onto his face.</p><p>He quickly looked through the list, his eyes looking for any sign of his username before he spotted it. I saw his face light up as he began to smile.</p><p>"Hey, would you look at that. I actually won!" Dae-shim said, stepping back and falling back onto the bed.</p><p>"COOLRUSH255...?" I read out loud, making him nod. "But we can't see it now...damn and I wanted to see this before I died," I mumbled as Dae-shim sat up.</p><p>"We don't know that," he stated, causing me to look over. "We both just have something to look forward to in the future."</p><p>"Something to look forward to in the future?" I repeated, with Dae-shim nodding and smiling.</p><p>"It's something to keep us going. So, let's keep on surviving so we can see that theatrical cut together," Dae-shim declared, holding his fist out to me.</p><p>I stared at her with confusion on my face, looking between him and his fist.</p><p>"You just gonna leave me hanging?" He asked, shaking his fist a bit.</p><p>"O-Oh right..." I muttered, hesitantly fist-bumping her as he smiled at me.</p><p>"No comment since the 5th," I pointed out as I started typing.</p><p>
  <strong>BLLK: Is anyone alive here? I'm out of food now. I have not become a monster yet, but I can't survive much longer with anything to eat. I'll just be dead alone in this room. Like garbage.</strong>
</p><p>I then sent my message online but then I realized: why do I need to send this anyway? "What the hell am I doing? This is pathetic," I sadly mused to myself. I decided to delete my message when a reply appeared.</p><p>It read:</p><p>
  <strong>CREWCREW: Someone's alive? Me! I'm still alive!</strong>
</p><p>"Is that a survivor?" Dae-shim asked, already by my side as I quickly nodded and sent my reply back.</p><p>
  <strong>BLLK: How are you over there?</strong>
</p><p>Dae-shim and I stared at the private chat as we waited, feeling as if we've been waiting forever for any sort of reply.</p><p>
  <strong>CREWCREW: The worst. Are you not in the process of being monsterized yet?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>BLLK: I'm definitely in the process. I don't know why, but I think it's working slow for me.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>CREWCREW: Monsterization time varies for each person. Shall I congratulate you for the increased time of pain?</strong>
</p><p>"That's one sarcastic asshole," I remarked as Dae-shim chuckled at the stranger's sarcasm.</p><p>
  <strong>BLLK: Where do you live?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>CREWCREW: It's the first time a guy asks me where I live in a chat, LOL. Why? You'd come to me and share some food?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>BLLK: I've got no food, none... I'd probably starve to death before I can commit suicide.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>CREWCREW: Suicide? What suicide?</strong>
</p><p>I was surprised by this, <em>'What the hell am I doing...? I don't even know this guy.'</em></p><p>
  <strong>BLLK: Actually,... I was gonna commit suicide on the 25th. But I'm not even sure if I could survive until then.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>CREWCREW: LOL, were you gonna die after watching the final episode of Maria? LOL, you also won the preview ticket?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>BLLK: Yes.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>CREWCREW: ...</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>BLLK: What's wrong?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>CREWCREW: Your life is fucking hopeless.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>BLLK: Your personality is fucking hopeless.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>CREWCREW: I'm with my neighbors. I live in a small studio apartment and we successfully blocked the 1st floor but everyone is isolated in this building.</strong>
</p><p>"You should be quite happy about it since you're not stuck in the room with a neighbor," I mused while reading his reply.</p><p>
  <strong>CREWCREW: We need to go outside to get some medicine, but there's no way. Especially, we don't have enough people. We plan to team up and go upstairs one by one to rescue other people who have become isolated.</strong>
</p><p>"That's insane," I gasped upon reading this. "Do they want to play heroes or something?"</p><p>"I guess," Dae-shim replied.</p><p>
  <strong>BLLK: ...Why don't you just wait for the army to rescue you?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>CREWCREW: We can't. There are a lot of people who need help right now.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>BLLK: Or climb up the window, using a rope or something.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>CREWCREW: We also thought about that, but it's gonna be difficult. And there's no rope that's long enough. Not many of us would be athletic enough to able to climb up several meters using a rope. Besides, there's this monster with an odd eyeball which is climbing around outside of the window.</strong>
</p><p>We froze as we quickly looked at each other, remembering the eyeball monster staring through the window before we had gone to bed.</p><p>"Wait. Did you mean..." I typed a reply but CREWCREW has already logged out.</p><p>"No way..." I stared at my computer, shocked at the fact that there are survivors in the apartment still alive, but also unbelieving that they'll last long in here. I scoffed before turning off my computer and turning towards Dae-shim, who caught me by surprise at the suddenly hopeful look on his face.</p><p>"There are survivors here...</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Eye for an Eye</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Dae-shim's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>It didn't take long for the internet to finally go out. Honestly, I'm just surprised it lasted this long. Though, that wasn't the worst part. We had run out of food. For the past few days, I've learned to conserve as much as possible in what Hyun and I had in our apartments, though it was different when it was just me eating. Since Hyun was awake, we went through food faster since he also hadn't eaten those past few days.</p><p>Lately, I had nothing to do but to plan our next move to meet this group of survivors in one piece as Hyun lays on the floor, staring at the ceiling lifelessly. I chose not to bother him, the poor thing had been through a lot since he's awakened 2 days ago, but it was hard to focus when my eyes landed on a certain part of his body as he laid sprawled out.</p><p>I sat there, staring at his uncovered wrists. Raised, light pink welts that covered his wrist, the fairly recent ones were a light red, dried blood scabbed over them as they were haphazardly cut over older ones. I discovered them when I gave him his first checkup the day this started. I remember feeling an intense sadness I had never felt before as I stared at them.</p><p>I wondered, <em>'What happened that caused him to do such a thing?'</em></p><p>"Dae-shim?"</p><p>My eyes snapped to Hyun as he looked at me, he sat up before looking towards the curtained window. I followed his gaze and was about to speak before I heard the faint sound of talking. We both quickly looked at each other before Hyun pulled back the curtains and looked out the window, I joined shortly before helping him open the window.</p><p>"What is it, Hyun?" I asked as we opened the window.</p><p>"Listen," Hyun replied as we poked our heads out.</p><p>"It's dangerous..." we heard someone say before another smaller voice chimed in "Don't go, Daddy...!"</p><p>My eyes widened as I realized that voice belonged to a child, making my heartache at the thought of what they had to go through.</p><p>"Can you not go? Please...?" Another asked. "Just stay with us!"</p><p>Hyun and I hesitantly stuck our heads out the window, spotting a man using what looked like bedsheets as a makeshift rope. My eyes widen to the size of dinner plates as I watched him climb over his balcony.</p><p>
  <em>'Is he crazy?! He's gonna hurt himself?!'</em>
</p><p>"Stop crying. What if monsters hear you?" He whispered. "Sook, take care of Yeong until I come back, okay?" He asked before smiling at a little girl on the balcony "Don't worry, you know daddy used to be in special forces. I can climb down and come back in no time!" He exclaimed</p><p>"Is he going down there..?" Hyun muttered.</p><p>"I sure hope not..." I added, "It's too dangerous for him to climb down from that height..."</p><p>I suddenly felt Hyun tense up as he looked down, I gave him a questionable look before following his gaze and suddenly feeling sick myself.</p><p>There at the bottom, standing still and staring at the man, was the same eyeball monster that we saw last night. It's multiple large eyes staring eerily as it watched him descend the side of the building.</p><p>I opened my mouth to yell, but nothing came out. My mouth suddenly feeling dry as words failed to escape me as I watched the monster walk towards the apartment.</p><p>"WATCH OUT! LOOK BELOW!" Hyun suddenly yelled out, causing the man to quickly snap his attention towards us.</p><p>The grotesque eyeball monster was already next to the man, staring at him, unblinking.</p><p>"GO AWAY!" The man screamed in fear as he tried to shoo the monster away, causing the children to scream themselves as they watched the scene unfold.</p><p>Suddenly, I heard the sound of fabric ripping, causing my heart to drop.</p><p>The man lost his grip as he began to scream louder as he began to fall, causing myself to finally let out a scream as I quickly hid my face in Hyun's shoulder as he did the same with mine.</p><p>It seemed like forever before I finally heard the sickening crack of a skull hitting the ground.</p><p>"NO! NOO! DADDY!"</p><p>The screams of the children reached my ears as I felt Hyun pull away from me to look outside.</p><p>The sound of a skull-cracking rang through my head on repeat before I suddenly felt bile rise through my throat and into my mouth, causing me to push Hyun away as I rushed to the bathroom and vomited whatever I had left of my measly breakfast this morning.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">3rd Person POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>The screams of the children began to grow louder as the monster stuck it's giant head through the sliding door, staring them down as they held each other and trembled terribly.</p><p>Hyun only stood there helplessly and stared, internally fighting with himself as he quickly tried to make a decision. He hunched over his bed and gritted his teeth, the screams of the children getting louder as he listened, feeling useless as they continued to plead.</p><p>"Go away! Go! Go away! You monster! Go-! Somebody help! Please help us!" the little girl, Sook, screamed through her tears as she held her brother.</p><p>Suddenly, all the thoughts he had racing through his head came to a halt. He quickly looked around his room before his eyes landed on his computer, lunging towards it and throwing it as hard as he could out the window, striking the monster hard.</p><p>Hyun's heart began to beat faster as he watched the monster jerk its head up to see what had hit it. Hyun swallowed a large lump in his throat before glaring just as harshly as the monster is glaring at him.</p><p>"COME ON! YOU PEEPING PERVERTED FUCKER!"</p><p>It's pupils dilating in rage as it rushed towards Hyun's window.</p><p>"Dae-shim!" Hyun called out, running towards his mop handle/spear and grabbing it just as Dae-shim ran out and the monster burst through the apartment window.</p><p>Dae-shim flinched as he shielded himself from the window breaking, sending glass flying throughout the room. Though, he quickly wasted no time in grabbing his bat and getting ready to fight.</p><p>Hyun let out a yell as he tried to land the first blow, causing the monster to quickly dodge as it wrapped tightly around him, tightening its hold on him as it began to constrict.</p><p>"LET GO OF HIM YOU CREEPY MOTHERFUCKER!" Dae-shim screamed as he swung his bat, landing a hard blow to the monster's head as it screeched in pain.</p><p>"YOU WANT TO BREATHE?"</p><p>Hyun froze as the voice in his head began to talk to him, time slowing down as he watched Dae-shim take another swing at the monster.</p><p>"IS THAT WHAT YOU DESIRE?"</p><p>The voice hissed, causing Hyun to grit his teeth as he suddenly tightened his grip on his weapon, then suddenly forcing it into one of the many eyes of the creature, causing it to burst with dark blood as it let out a screech.</p><p>Hyun quickly slid beneath the creature as he escaped its grasp, Dae-shim quickly joined him as they got closer to each other, watching the monster as it cowered in pain.</p><p>Hyun pressed his back against Dae-shim's, trying to catch his breath as quickly as possible as the monster began to recover from its injuries.</p><p>"Listen to me! What I desire is...," Hyun began. "watching... the theatrical version... OF MARIA!" He screamed, before suddenly lunging at the monster and striking it again, causing another eye to burst with blood as the monster began to twitch and wiggle before it limply collapsed onto the bed.</p><p>Hyun panted heavily, collapsing into his chair while Dae-shim flopped to the floor in exhaustion, both sitting in silence as they tried to catch their breath.</p><p>"On the day of its release, I mean..." Hyun panted.</p><p>"W-Wow..." Dae-shim breathed out. "You really showed them, didn't you..?"</p><p>Hyun looked at the monster, a little impressed with his work.</p><p>"Y-Yeah.." he began "I did this...I really killed that monster..!" He exclaimed, a small triumphant smile gracing his lips.</p><p>The two shared tired laughs, admiring their teamwork before noticing something.</p><p>The monster had moved.</p><p>Dread filled them both as they watched it open its eyes and slowly raise its head, a sickening crack coming from it as a giant mouth slowly began to form, teeth like razors forming along with it. Long, thin tendrils began to slowly poke out of its flesh.</p><p>"<strong>AWW... IT... HUUR...TSS</strong>"</p><p>It groaned, looking at the two as they looked on, frozen in fear as the monster tensed it's tendrils and raised them, aiming them at the two.</p><p>"<strong>Y..OU... D...D...IEEE...</strong>"</p><p>Hyun and Dae-shim quickly held each other's hand, squeezing them tightly as they closed their eyes, bracing themselves for the pain that they would be feeling.</p><p>Only... it didn't come.</p><p>A loud bang was heard that made Hyun and Dae-shim jump, Dae-shim opened his eyes first and saw the decapitated head of the monster's head laying to the side of the bed.</p><p>It shook, twitched, and even hissed in pain as it began to dry up, before finally dying.</p><p>Hyun and Dae-shim stared at it with wide eyes, greatly confused by what had just happened as the monster lay lifelessly on the bed.</p><p>"Okay. That was creepy," Dae-shim remarked while Hyun rose from the chair as he cautiously walked over, stepping on some of the monsters in the process, causing the two to recoil and scrunch their noses in disgust as they made their way towards the window.</p><p>They both looked to their left and spotted a chubby man that looked like he could be in his 50's. He silently asked if you were both okay, causing Dae-shim to quickly nod in response but leaving Hyun puzzled at the man's question.</p><p>This time the man disappeared for a moment and came back with a whiteboard.</p><p>"Good, but other monsters might be coming here after hearing that just now."</p><p>The whiteboard read, causing Hyun and Dae-shim to look at each other worriedly. Hyun turned to the man, asking silently if his weapon can kill the monsters, causing the man to sigh and shake his head.</p><p>There below, the monster's neck detached from its body, causing it to squirm as the body got up and walked away as if nothing happened.</p><p>"Is this for real...?" Hyun was shocked at what he and Dae-shim witnessed.</p><p>Dae-shim suddenly felt sick again before something else caught his eye. He had spotted the children from earlier on their balcony, sobbing as the looked over the edge at the dead body of their dad.</p><p>Hyun also felt terrible, he glanced at the man, a pleading expression in his face.</p><p>The man began to frantically write on the whiteboard again before finally showing it to the two boys.</p><p>"Do you want to save those kids?"</p><p>The word 'save' suddenly gave Hyun a chill up his spine.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Preparing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Dae-shim's POV</strong>
</p><p>"If you keep your phone connected to any numbers, you will hear the beeping sound when the monster is nearby."</p><p>I stared at my phone, remembering the times I've heard the beeps as I've tried to call my parents. Even when the apartment was taken over, I still remembered to take the time to call them in hopes one of them will answer my call.</p><p>
  <em>'My father... I was supposed to keep him updated the day it all started. What if he's worried about me?'</em>
</p><p>"Dae-shim? Are you okay?"</p><p>I quickly snapped out of my thoughts and looked at Hyun, who was staring at me with a worried expression on his face. I gave him a small smile and shook my head.</p><p>"I'm okay, Hyun. Don't worry about me," I answered.</p><p>He nodded, still looking worried before he brought his attention to the shriveled up monster that laid on his bed, making me look at it too. Once we leave, there will be more of these things out there. I've had close encounters with them before while scavenging, but it's different when you know you're going to be up close and personal.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Hyun's POV</strong>
</p><p>As soon as Dae-shim and I were ready, I took a deep breath and exited the apartment as quietly as possible, sticking closer to Dae-shim than usual.</p><p>Once we investigated the hallways, we were repulsed and horrified by what we saw.</p><p>Blood was splattered all over the floor and the walls. Many doors were left open, some were even smashed in from what I could imagine was from a monster trying to get its next meal.</p><p>Soon, I felt a light tap on my arm, making me slightly flinch and quickly turn to Dae-shim.</p><p>"Come on, Hyun. Let's keep going okay," he urged while placing his hand on my shoulder. I nodded reluctantly.</p><p>
  <em>"IT WAS NICE TO STAY WARM AT HOME WITH YOUR BEST FRIEND DAE-SHIM, RIGHT?"</em>
</p><p>I felt my entire body tense up as I heard that voice again, feeling a shudder go through my entire body as I suddenly began to feel paranoid. Dreading the thought of running into a monster who would be ready to kill us at any moment.</p><p>
  <em>"YOU'LL SOON BE DEAD."</em>
</p><p>I started sweating profusely as we hurried down the hall, checking for any monsters first before quietly making our way towards the door that should be the man's apartment, knocking as quietly as possible.</p><p>"It's open."</p><p>Dae-shim and I looked at each other in surprise and confusion before slowly entering the room. I closed the door behind us as we both let outbreathes that we were holding.</p><p>"What's wrong? Are you feeling dizzy?"</p><p>I look up, my eyes widening slightly at the man before me.</p><p>The man looked like he could be in his mid 40's, he was a big man with a dad bod, short, dark brown hair, and some stubble. He looked like he could be any normal man, except the thing that stood out the most was that he was in a wheelchair, one of his pant legs rolled up where his left leg was supposed to be.</p><p>"We're... um... fine... Thank you for asking..." Dae-shim replied.</p><p><em>'How awkward...'</em> I thought to myself before saying out loud. "He... Hello."</p><p>"I'm Dusik Hahn." The man began "You?"</p><p>"Hyun...Hyun Cha..." I muttered quietly, avoiding his gaze as I hear him chuckle.</p><p>"And what about you?" He asked Dae-shim.</p><p>Dae-shim smiles at him and pointed at himself "I'm Dae-shim Chu! Nice to meet you!" he exclaimed, causing Dusik to smile at him.</p><p>"Well at least one of you is open and talkative," He mused. "You two are friends, right?"</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>3rd Person POV</strong>
</p><p>"I guess," Dae-shim replied as he scratched his head.</p><p>"S-So, um... how can we save those kids?" Hyun asked, attempting to get back on track.</p><p>"Jesus, you two. Look at my leg. You have to go save them by yourselves." Dusik pointed out, causing both boys to look at each other with concern.</p><p>"When I was younger, my friends used to call me Mr. Macgyver," He reminisced before giving the two a smirk. "You know what I mean? I was the guy who could build anything with these two hands!"</p><p>"Oh..." "Uh-huh..." the two boys spoke out, obviously clueless on what the man was talking about.</p><p>Dusik rolled his eyes before pointing at their weapons "What I'm trying to tell you dopes is that I can make your weapons into something more useful. Though... your bat looks like to bust any second now." He mentioned, pointing at Dae-shim's wooden baseball bat.</p><p>He looked down at his weapon and realized that Dusik was right; it was starting to splinter and with the tip being chipped off, a few more hits and he'll be done for.</p><p>"...Huh? Oh... really?" Hyun mused.</p><p>Dusik took Hyun's weapon before looking back at Dae-shim.</p><p>"Why don't you take a look around my place? I'm sure I have something that'll pique your interest," He said, before rolling over to his workbench and began to get to work.</p><p>"Well..." Dusik began.</p><p>"Wow..." Hyun said in amazement.</p><p>"Almost done. Now, you can't adjust the length but it will be stronger."</p><p>"Wow, you are... just like Isaac Clarke."</p><p>Dusik gave a funny stare at them since he doesn't know what Hyun was talking about.</p><p>"Have you two seen the blind monster wandering around the hallway?" he asked. "That punk missing half of his head."</p><p>"Yes..." Hyun and Dae-shim said as they remembered their last encounter with it.</p><p>"I don't know who did that to him but he's still alive even though the top of his head is gone, which means a knife won't deal much damage. But <em>this</em> might work."</p><p>Dusik then placed a live wire near the knife and transferred some of the wire's electricity to the knife blade. He then gave the upgraded weapon back to Hyun and even gave him a grey backpack that appears to be heavy.</p><p>"I put an inverter connected to a battery in this backpack. It's a bit heavy but you will be able to carry it around. Turning on the switch will make the electricity flow, so be careful. When they get hit by this, they'll probably dance like crazy." Dusik added.</p><p>"I, I see..." Hyun trailed.</p><p>"How about you kid," Dusik then asked Dae-shim. "Have you picked a weapon that you like?"</p><p>"Mm-hmm..." Dae-shim gave him a standard whip and Dusik turned it into something far more useful and effective.</p><p>Dusik turned to the boy and held out an upgraded version of the whip, complete with two buttons on the handle, causing Dae-shim to look at it with great confusion.</p><p>"This is the whip I gave you?" he questioned, causing the man to smile.</p><p>"You betcha!" He exclaimed, before pressing his thumb against the upper button on the whip handle, which triggered the latter part of the lash to separate into three tails, taking the two boys by surprise.</p><p>"Whoa!" they gasped at this.</p><p>"Hold on, I'm not finished." Dusik continued, pointing the wires that can be seen going through the lash and the handle. "You see these wires? Just like your friend here, these wires will send an electric current throughout the lash by pressing the lower button on the handle." He explained, "The only downside is, you have to carry around a battery just like him which can be pretty heavy."</p><p>Dae-shim stared at him in awe as she took the pipe into his own hands, examining the weapon with great interest before looking back up at the man</p><p>"Woah...this is fucking bad-ass!" he exclaimed, causing the man to let out a roar of laughter.</p><p>Dusik smiled before pointing at their backpacks "I suggest hurrying up and putting those batteries in your bags," he started, before giving a clean pair of rubber gloves to Dae-shim, who hesitantly took them from the man.</p><p>"You're going to need these so you don't get shocked yourself from holding that thing." He said.</p><p>"But won't you need them?" Dae-shim asked, only to be waived off.</p><p>"Don't worry kid, I got plenty of 'em! You have no idea how many pairs of working gloves I go through." He joked, causing Dae-shim to smile as he put them on.</p><p>"You know, you two look like Ray Stantz and Peter Venkman," Dusik commented as Dae-shim and Hyun were confused by what he just said.</p><p>"Make sure you come back as soon as you save those children, got it?" Dusik ordered, causing the pair to nod before Hyun stepped forward and spoke.</p><p>"By the way, sir,... now we can defeat monsters with this, right?" Hyun asked, looking a little hopeful</p><p>"...No, of course, you can't."</p><p>"What?" gasped Hyun and Dae-shim.</p><p>"Avoid them as much as possible. That will only slightly increase your chance for survival." Dusik explained.</p><p>"Only slightly increased..?" Dae-shim muttered with worry and concern lacing his voice as he began to think about all the possible scenarios that could happen if they aren't careful.</p><p>"Basically, just run away when you see them," Dusik ordered, turning to face his desk before freezing, then suddenly looking up at the two before him. "No, just don't get caught in the first place."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Rescue (Part 1)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>3rd Person POV</strong>
</p><p>The two kids are still in their room, huddling each other for safety.</p><p>"I'm so hungry..." the little boy complained.</p><p>"You are?" his older sister asked.</p><p>"Yeah," he nodded as his sister gave him a partially eaten slice of bread.</p><p>"Here," she said as he grabbed it.</p><p>"But... what about you?" the boy asked.</p><p>"I'm not hungry," the girl replied as the boy began to falter when he said something.</p><p>"I... I miss Daddy."</p><p>This made the girl's eyes well up with tears.</p><p>"Me, too..." she said.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Dae-shim's POV</strong>
</p><p>Meanwhile...</p><p>"Well...then can I borrow your shotgun or..." Hyun said before Dusik interrupted him.</p><p>"That's my insurance," Dusik claimed, causing me to raise an eyebrow.</p><p>"Insurance?" I questioned, causing the man to give me a small smile as he held the weapon up.</p><p>"This baby shoots a bunch of nails with compressed air and gas. To use it, you have to turn the air compressor on." He explained, before holding and aiming it.</p><p>"If a monster breaks in, the first shot is for that punk, and the last shot..." he stopped, before looking at us as Hyun and I began to realize what he meant by him using the last shot.</p><p>"I'll be using it for the comfort of my own," he finished.</p><p>"That...that will never happen-!" Hyun added, causing Dusik to chuckle and shake his head.</p><p>"In this kind of situation, you can never be certain about anything." He stated, causing Hyun and I to look at each other sadly.</p><p>"Still..." Dusik muttered, "You look quite young but you've managed to survive. I've gotta admit, you two are pretty impressive."</p><p>"Right back at you. And trust me, I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for Dae-shim..." Hyun mumbled, taking me by surprise as I looked at him, only for him to look at me and give me a small smile.</p><p>I hear a chuckle come from Dusik as he looks at us, an amused expression on his face.</p><p>"Well, you better treat him right then, cause I'm sure you two can bond over during a disaster like this." He mused.</p><p>I chuckled hesitantly before saying, "Yeah..."</p><p>"Well, you two boys make one hell of a good team and I can tell you that. Now, save those kids before it's too late. You two can tell me about your adventure later." He promised, easing my nerves at the thought of being able to come back without dying out there.</p><p>"You can count on us, sir," I said as Hyun and I exited the room.</p><p>Once we were outside, I tapped Hyun on the shoulder.</p><p>"Yeah?" he asked.</p><p>"Can you stand guard my apartment? I need to go change my clothes," I said.</p><p>"Sure..." he said before we head to my apartment. I headed inside to change my clothes. After this, I exited my apartment as I am now wearing a black hooded jacket over a new black shirt, blue jeans, black army boots, blue-tinted glasses, a gas mask, and a beige shoulder bag. I still have my whip, rubber gloves, and the backpack with the batter inside.</p><p>"What are you wearing?" Hyun asked upon seeing my new getup.</p><p>"I thought I'd dress appropriately for the occasion," I replied. "Now, come on. Those kids aren't gonna save themselves. I can only imagine how scared they must be..."</p><p>We headed to the elevator. Hyun pressed the down ⬇️ button, but the elevator doors remained closed.</p><p>"Damn...why isn't the elevator not working?" Hyun muttered to himself.</p><p>I shrugged before facing him "The power has been out for quite some time, I just haven't used the elevator during the first few days since I moved here to avoid making any noise."</p><p>Hyun let out an annoyed sigh as he looked towards the stairwell.</p><p>"Looks like we have to go downstairs..." he muttered, causing me to silently agree as we quietly made our way towards the stairs.</p><p>"Strange... I could've sworn that there was such a loud commotion here a while ago..." I added, watching Hyun peek around the corner.</p><p>Bee...</p><p>I suddenly flinched in surprise at the first beep, immediately locking eyes with Hyun as he looked at each other in terror as the beeping started to become more consistent, causing us to quickly crouch down and huddle close to each other.</p><p>
  <em>"Just run away when you see them. No, just don't get caught in the first place."</em>
</p><p>Dusik's advice began to play in my head like a prayer as I quickly looked around for an escape route, hearing footsteps become louder and louder within every second. I suddenly saw a small opening in one of the elevator's and motioned Hyun inside. He hid by the door while I hid by the corner diagonal to Hyun.</p><p>Soon enough, I heard footsteps come up the stairs and down the hall, growing louder, and louder as the blind monster stopped in front of the elevator we were hiding in, causing Hyun and me to look at each other with panic.</p><p>"I...CA..N'T...I...C...AN'T..."</p><p>It groaned, the sickening sound of cartilage crackling as an ear started to grow from the side of its head, growing to the size of its head.</p><p>"SE..E..."</p><p>It groaned, the sickening sound of cartilage crackling as its ear started to grow grotesquely and alarmingly, reaching to the size of its head.</p><p>Hyun and I quickly began to hold our breath, staying as still as possible as the monster continued to stand there and listen, waiting for any noise.</p><p>
  <em>Huff...</em>
</p><p>The monster was quickly on Hyun's side, staring him down as a smile of victory came upon its horrid face</p><p>"FO...UND...YOU..."</p><p>My fight or flight sense kicked in, I suddenly felt a surge of adrenaline go through me as I quickly turned on the electricity for my pipe, and swung, causing the monster to screech in pain as it was knocked back.</p><p>My adrenaline levels began to skyrocket as I quickly turned on the electricity for my whip, and cracked at the monster while Hyun stabs it in the chest, causing the monster to screech in pain as it was knocked back.</p><p>I quickly grabbed for Hyun as I pulled him out of the elevator with me, running down the hall before suddenly being pushed forward and pulled down, the weight of Hyun on top of me as I see the blind monster's tentacles shooting into our direction.</p><p>Hyun quickly pulled me towards the hallway to the right of the elevators as we hid against a wall there. The tentacle continued shooting in its direction before it pierced the wall and spikes grew out of it to spread and pierce anything they will come in contact with. We looked back and noticed the blind monster still standing on its spot.</p><p>"WHE...RE... A..RE YOU..." it bellowed.</p><p>Hyun then took out a glass bottle and threw it down the hall, breaking upon contact with the floor.</p><p>We then ran out, charging towards the monster while it was distracted before piercing and wrapping the monster and sending electrical surges through it, causing the monster to screech in pain one last time before shriveling up and passing out.</p><p>"Phew... Now, get some sleep once and for all..." he grumbled.</p><p>"Let's just hope he will stay like that..." I panted. "Come one. The stairway is over there."</p><p>We ran towards the stairway and closed the door behind us, trying to catch our breath from the stressful situation.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Hyun's POV</strong>
</p><p>I felt my knees tremble out of fear and I can tell that Dae-shim is just as afraid as I am.</p><p><em>'Let's move! We have to keep going!'</em> I thought to myself.</p><p>Dae-shim and I continued down the stairs, realizing a few steps down the light sensor wasn't turning on, causing us to turn on the flashlights on our phones and continue down.</p><p>"Looks like the light sensors here don't work either." Sighed Dae-shim, causing me to look at him.</p><p>"You haven't been down here?" I asked, causing him to shake his head.</p><p>"I tried not to stray too far from my apartment and yours when looking for supplies, just in case I got in a tight spot or if you were to wake up during the time I was keeping an eye on you," he explained, causing me to nod and look forward, starting to feel guilty at the thought of the times Dae-shim could have been killed all because he was taking care of me.</p><p>Soon enough, my head started to throb terribly, causing me to visibly wince at the pain.</p><p>Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder.</p><p>Thinking it was Dae-shim, I turn only to be met with what looked like another version of me, except this version was all white and had dull, lifeless eyes as it stared at me with a cold expression.</p><p>
  <em>"AS FAR AS I KNOW, YOU WERE..."</em>
</p><p>It got closer to my face, my heart beating faster by the minute as it continued to stay silent.</p><p><em>"A PERSON WHO COULDN'T STAND IF YOU DIDN'T SHARE YOUR HURT FEELINGS WITH OTHERS."</em> It finished, causing me to tense up as I began to remember all the terrible comments and things I've said to others, causing me to shake at how amazing it felt to let out all that negativity onto someone else.</p><p>
  <em>"BUT SHARING IS SOMETHING THAT REQUIRES PERMISSION AND UNDERSTANDING OF OTHERS. DON'T YOU THINK?"</em>
</p><p>His head got close to my ear as he spoke while I trembled at the terrible attitude I've had for such a long time, making others suffer with me while I didn't give one apology to them.</p><p>
  <em>"YOU...HAVE IGNORED THE OTHER PEOPLE'S WOUNDS YOU'VE INFLICTED ON THEM AND RAN AWAY IRRESPONSIBLY."</em>
</p><p>I looked down at my hands, shaking as I felt tears threatening to spill from my eyes.</p><p>"I-It wasn't my fault in the b-beginning...I was not that person...!" I tried to reason, my head feeling as if it'll split open at any moment.</p><p>
  <em>"Hyun...?"</em>
</p><p>Is someone talking to me?</p><p><em>"YOU THINK YOU'RE ALL GREAT AND RIGHTEOUS FOR TRYING TO SAVE THOSE CHILDREN, DON'T YOU? AND WHAT, ALL TO IMPRESS SOME BOY IN THE HOPES YOU DON'T DIE ALONE AND FRIENDLESS."</em> The voice mocked, it's neck stretching to look at me and flash me a sadistic smile. "YOU ARE A FUCKING HYPOCRITE."</p><p>"Hyun!"</p><p>Suddenly, I was met with green eyes staring right back at me, fear and worry evident in them.</p><p>"Dae-shim...? W-What... happened...?" I asked quietly, suddenly starting to feel concerned about how worried he was for me.</p><p>"You froze and started crying... you were muttering and you weren't paying attention to me... I was so worried about you..." he explained.</p><p>I then took short deep breaths before pulling myself together.</p><p>"Sorry about that, Dae-shim," I meekly apologized.</p><p>"It's okay, Hyun," he reassured me. "It could've happened to me as well. Let's go save those kids first, okay? I need you to stay on track for me, can you do that?" he asked, causing me to sigh slightly before nodding with determination.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Rescue (Part 2)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Little Girl's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>As I put my brother to sleep, I suddenly heard loud noises from upstairs going:</p><p>
  <strong>CHOMP</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>CHOMP</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>CHOMP</strong>
</p><p>Frightened, I grabbed a nearby kitchen knife and began to tremble at the sound of chomping from upstairs as green liquid dripped from a crack on the ceiling.</p><p>"Help...!" I hesitated as tears well up in my eyes.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Dae-shim's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>As we continued our descent down the stairwell, my mind couldn't help but repeat that moment I had with Hyun on a loop.</p><p>He looked so... broken.</p><p>I've never seen anyone break down that badly before, or look so starved for some sort of human contact.</p><p><em>'Then again...those scars on his wrist shouldn't surprise me..' </em>I thought sadly, glancing up at Hyun as he continued to make his way to a door.</p><p><em>'What happened to him in the past that made him... this?' </em>I sighed before joining Hyun look out the door, checking our surroundings before I felt the brunette tense up greatly, causing me to take notice and follow his gaze.</p><p>Not far from where we are, there stood a muscular monster that stood no more than 8 feet tall. It's scarily fit body intimidated me greatly, especially as the small head rested upon its very large shoulders, and a creepy smile painted on its face.</p><p>"<strong>BEN...C...H..PR...ESS...</strong>" It groaned, before stomping down the hall, causing the ground to shake beneath it.</p><p>I gulped before spotting the room number to the kid's apartment, gently tugging on Hyun's sleeve to get his attention.</p><p>"Hyun...there it is, Apartment 1210," I whispered, causing Hyun to silently nod before quietly leading me outside the stairwell.</p><p>"<strong>PP...R...O...TEIN...</strong>" The monster groaned once more, causing us to stop in our tracks as we watched it enter a room, which I noticed had a body, with the hand sticking out of the doorway.</p><p>The body soon disappeared as it was dragged away inside, then moments later, the sickening sound of flesh and bone being pulled apart could be heard throughout the quiet hallway. The sounds made me feel suddenly nauseous as I took a sharp intake of breath.</p><p>"No..." I heard Hyun mumble, before quickly grabbing my wrist and leading me towards the apartment door.</p><p>I watched as Hyun knocked as quietly as possible as to not alert the monster nearby.</p><p>"Hey kids, we... we came to rescue you.." he whispered.</p><p>No response.</p><p>I felt my heart begin to sink at the silence.</p><p>"Guys..?" Hyun spoke up once more, worry evident in his voice.</p><p>Soon, I couldn't stand the silence any longer. I reached to open the door before I suddenly felt something wet and sticky fall onto my hand, causing me to jump at the sudden contact before up turning my hand and catching more of the mysterious green liquid. I even noticed some on Hyun's shoulder as he wiped it off.</p><p>"What is this..?" I mumbled, examining the clear, green-tinted substance. Hyun and I looked up at the crack on the ceiling.</p><p>
  <strong>BEEP BEEP!</strong>
</p><p>Suddenly Hyun and I jumped at the sudden noise, causing us to look at each other before entering the apartment together.</p><p>Suddenly, we froze at what was right in front of us.</p><p>Staring right at us was a translucent green-tinted slime humanoid with two floating eyeballs on its 'head'.</p><p>"<strong>YO..U...SE..E...MEEE...?</strong>"</p><p>It quietly asked, still staring at Hyun and me with a lifeless expression.</p><p>I suddenly felt like I was being drowned as I felt my feet rise from the ground, suddenly realizing my vision was tinted a sickly pale green as I was thrown across the room and Hyun landing on top of me with a 'thud'.</p><p>We gasped loudly, trying to regain our breath as I see the monster face us out of the corner of my eye. I panicked and began to rise to prepare for a fight before Hyun rose before me and aimed his weapon at the gelatinous blob-man.</p><p>"Get away! What the hell did you do to them!?" He yelled, surprising me from how furious he sounded.</p><p>I quickly regain my breath and stood up with Hyun to fight, only to be surprised once more.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Dusik's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>As I exited out of my room, I noticed the seemingly lifeless blind monster on the floor.</p><p>"Oh, well. You've done well, kids," I muttered</p><p>I prepared my gun to deliver a final blow at it before noticing its hand wriggling.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Hyun's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>"Where are they...?" I angrily asked the green monster. "What the hell did you do to them!?"</p><p>It didn't answer as it only squeezed through the ceiling and disappeared.</p><p>"What...just happened.." Dae-shim muttered, but before I could answer, I heard a small sniffle come from the closet, causing me to whip my head in that direction and see two pairs of the most terrified eyes staring directly at us.</p><p>It was the kids.</p><p>"You, you guys...!"</p><p>I noticed Dae-shim falling to his knees as his eyes began to water. Those two kids looked so tiny and helpless, their worryingly skinny bodies emphasizing their size even more.</p><p>My heart broke at their crying, they had no idea what was happening. Not only that, but they just witnessed the death of their dad and were now left alone in a world that was even more dangerous than it already was.</p><p>The only thing I could do now was holding them and wait for them to stop crying. We sat down as Dae-shim and I took off our bags. Dae-shim even took off his goggles and gas mask.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">3rd Person POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>"Your mom's...in Seoul..?" Hyun questioned, watching the two kids nod silently as they sat on Dae-shim's lap.</p><p>"So you came to see your dad without telling your mom?" He asked once more.</p><p>"Yeah.." the girl responded.</p><p>Hyun sighed, sitting back and crossing his arms as he thought about the situation. He then noticed a bowl of noodles and a grocery bag on the table.</p><p><em>'Well, I get the gist of it...'</em> Hyun thought as Dae-shim began to dig through his shoulder bag and pull out two cereal bars before handing them to the kids, smiling to urge them to take the food.</p><p>"You two are so skinny, here. Eat something okay? Go on, I have plenty," he urged.</p><p>The two kids looked at each other before hesitantly taking the food, sadly looking at it before the little boy looked at Hyun and spoke up.</p><p>"Please save my daddy.." he whimpered.</p><p>"What?" Hyun asked, taken off guard by the request.</p><p>The boy looked down, now fumbling with his hands as he began to tremble.</p><p>"Daddy...fell down because of the monster..." he explained, causing Dae-shim to sigh and nod in acknowledgment.</p><p>"We know buddy...we saw.."</p><p>The little boy looked up at him, hope filling his eyes.</p><p>"M-Maybe...he's still alive. Just maybe..." he cried, looking back at Hyun to make sure he was listening.</p><p>"No one can stay alive after falling down from the 12th floor." Hyun deadpanned, causing Dae-shim to shake his head at the boy's bluntness as he held the crying kids in his arms.</p><p>"S-Sorry...I'm not good with kids.." Hyun confessed.</p><p>"Yeah, it's pretty obvious." Dae-shim sighed.</p><p>While she didn't agree with how his neighbor delivered the news, he also silently agreed that it was best to do it without sugar-coating it.</p><p>They couldn't exactly afford the luxury of sitting around and mourning the dead when you could be next.</p><p>Dae-shim sighed, gaining Hyun's attention as he watched his neighbor smile softly at the sniffling kids.</p><p>"Listen, kids. There is a man we know," he began, the kids suddenly looking up at him as they sniffled.</p><p>"He has a lot of food and has weapons to protect you. I'm sure those cereal bars didn't exactly fill you up did they?" he asked as they shook their heads.</p><p>"We have to go out into the corridor where the monsters are roaming," Hyun explained. "So...are you guys ready now?" He asked.</p><p>The kids looked at him with fear before looking at each other, unsure of what lies before them outside their apartment door.</p><p>"How old are you guys?" Dae-shim asked, attempting to lighten the mood.</p><p>"I'm nine years old. And my name is Sook..." the little girl responded before pointing at her brother. "My brother is Yeong...and he's six years old.."</p><p>"Perfect age to fight monsters..!" Hyun joked, before offering them a small smile of his own. "Don't worry too much, we'll protect you." He promised, causing the two kids to nod.</p><p>Dae-shim helped the kids off his lap as he and Hyun placed their bags and Dae-shim's mask and goggles back on.</p><p>"Remember, we have to be VERY quiet, okay?" Dae-shim stated, looking at the kids. "The elevators are broken so we have to take the stairs, it'll be a bit dark but don't be scared. If you do, you can hold my hand. Does that sound good?"</p><p>Sook and Yeong straightened up before saying "Yes!" In unison.</p><p>"Also, monsters here are sensitive to sound, so you have to follow us quietly," Hyun added as he and Dae-shim readied their weapons. "Are you guys ready?"</p><p>"Yes, yes!" Sook and Yeong replied.</p><p>"Okay, then. Let's go," Dae-shim finished as Hyun put on his earphones. "Now, get between us, that way Hyun can protect us in the front and I can protect us from behind."</p><p>"How are you so good with kids..?" Hyun asked quietly, causing Dae-shim to smile at him as he placed his earbuds in.</p><p>"Well, I have no trouble interacting with kids younger than I am," he responded, taking Hyun by surprise as he began to open the door.</p><p>Quietly motioning for the three to continue following them, with Dae-shim trying to distract the children from the gross slurping, chomping, and wet sounds coming from the abnormally monster.</p><p>"<strong>PP...RO...TEIN...</strong>"</p><p>Hyun opened the stairwell door as quietly as possible, ushering the three through the door as he cautiously watched the monster chomp down on its meal.</p><p>"<strong>MU...SC..LE...</strong>"</p><p>Hyun opened the stairwell door as quietly as possible, ushering the three through the door as he cautiously watched the monster chomp down on its meal.</p><p>Dae-shim gave him an 'all clear' nod as he was the last one to go through the door and the last one to check if the monster is still in the room, causing Hyun to nod back as he quietly closed the door, heading back to his spot at the front as the image of Dae-shim's face stayed on his mind.</p><p>
  <em>'I'll protect you... I'll protect you three...'</em>
</p><p>He thought sincerely, Dae-shim's smile appearing in his head.</p><p><em>"REALLY?" </em>the voice in his head taunted, causing Hyun to ignore it and continue, looking back on his partner and the kids every once in a while.</p><p>The voice began to chuckle at the boy's promise, that laughter soon growing louder, ringing in Hyun's head.</p><p><em>"NOW I KNOW FOR SURE, HYUN CHA." </em>it teased sadistically, causing a ringing to go through Hyun's head, causing him to wince but push on as to not draw attention.</p><p>
  <em>"I KNOW WHAT YOUR DESIRE IS."</em>
</p><p>Suddenly, something warm began to trickle down Hyun's face, causing him to stop in his tracks as his heart began to race. Fearing what the substance may be as he touched his face and looked down at his hand.</p><p>Blood</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Rescue (Part 3)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">3rd Person POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>It all happened so fast.</p><p>A sharp, throbbing pain spread from his head straight to his chest, his eyes tinting red as they widened from the excruciating pain getting worse, causing Dae-shim to notice as Hyun stopped abruptly to grip at his chest.</p><p>"Hyun what's wrong?" he asked, looking distressed as he began searching his shoulder bag for anything that would ease the pain.</p><p>Only he couldn't find anything, he looked up to ask his neighbor what could be causing his pain before suddenly losing his ability to speak, noticing the concerning amount of blood spouting from his nose, the visible blood vessels and nerves that streak all over his face and neck, and his pink eyes staring at his green ones.</p><p>
  <em>'He's infected.'</em>
</p><p>Hyun quickly pushed her away as he moved closer to the wall, trying his best to distance himself from Dae-shim and the kids.</p><p>"A, Are you okay?" Sook asked with concern in her voice.</p><p>"G-Go ahead first..!" He choked out, hunching over in pain "Get...away from me!"</p><p>Dae-shim began to tremble at the sight, he's seen the signs of infection in all the books he read about monsterization and he also witnessed small animals transform before, but he never experienced witnessing one like this up close and personal.</p><p>He outstretched his arm to him.</p><p>"Hyun-" he began, only for Hyun to whip around and push him away more aggressively.</p><p>"HURRY!" He roared, causing Dae-shim to jump back in fear at the sight of his red eyes and nerve-covered face.</p><p>Dae-shim had to act fast, as must as he hated it, he forced himself to usher the kids up the stairs, not looking back.</p><p>"Come on, kids," Dae-shim said as they continued heading up the stairs.</p><p><em>"DO YOU WANT TO PLAY A HERO..." </em>the voiced started, causing Hyun to shut his eyes and put his weight on his weapon.</p><p>His vision turning red as he watched Dae-shim usher the kids upstairs. Though, he noticed something fall from Dae-shim's eyes as he stared at him.</p><p>
  <em>'Tears..?'</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"IN FRONT OF THOSE WHO ARE WEAKER THAN YOU?"</em>
</p><p>Hyun trembled, his legs feeling weaker and weaker by the second, wanting to give out and crumple into a ball from the pain.</p><p>
  <em>"RIGHT, YOU WERE A GOOD BOY ONCE. I CAN MAKE YOU A REAL HERO."</em>
</p><p>Hyun suddenly opened his eyes, and looked around, noticing he was in what looked like his own mind. He then looked forward, where a giant, cancerous looking lump of flesh was staring at him.</p><p>
  <em>"NOW... TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT."</em>
</p><p>"The season one finale of Maria from the Sky..." he replied. "Maria's father who was thought to have died appeared before her. The devil who disguised as her father tried to kill her, but she didn't fall for that because a devil always tells a lie."</p><p>He remembered the climax of that finale that he saw in a preview video.</p><p>As he exited his mind, Hyun gripped his spear and started breathing heavily.</p><p>"... Are you... okay?" Sook asked.</p><p>"Argh..." Hyun groaned in pain as his eyes, face, and neck revert to their normal states. "I, I'm fine...!"</p><p>"Are you... turning into a monster, too?" Yeong asked with tears in his eyes.</p><p>"Not yet," Hyun replied as the two kids were relieved to hear that.</p><p>"Okay, now, let's keep going..." Hyun said as he wiped his nose with his jacket sleeve.</p><p>Suddenly, they heard loud stomping from the hallway outside.</p><p>"Damn it... Damn it...!" Hyun said to himself out of dread as he removed his earphones off.</p><p>Just then, the stairway door was ripped off its hinges and fell into the stairs in front of it as the muscle monster at them.</p><p>"<strong>S...TRE..NG..TH... MU...S...CLE...</strong>" It groaned, almost excitedly at the sight of Dae-shim, Hyun, Sook, and Yeong.</p><p>"RUN!" Hyun screamed at his next-door neighbor and the two kids. Meanwhile, on the 11th floor, Jisu Yoon suddenly sensed that someone nearby is in trouble.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Hyun's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>As I jumped down, I landed on the door, which led to my ankle getting sprained.</p><p>"Argh-!" I groaned in pain from the impact.</p><p>"Are you okay?" I heard Sook asking from the upper flight.</p><p>"Ugh..." I groaned again as I thought to myself. <em>'What should I do? I'm not sure if that blind prick on the 14th floor is still knocked out or not..'</em></p><p>Suddenly, the monster began climbing up the stairs, pursuing after Dae-shim, Sook, and Yeong.</p><p><em>'No...!'</em> I mentally screamed as I feared the worst for those three.</p><p>"Let's go!" Dae-shim exclaimed as I heard his and the kids' footsteps overhead.</p><p>"HEYYYYY!" I screamed at the monster as it looked at me.</p><p>
  <em>'If that monster desires to be all muscle... then...'</em>
</p><p>I then flashed a confident smile at the monster.</p><p>"Hey, you pick on little kids and their guardians now?" I asked tauntingly. "Now you got some muscles, you wanna show off your strength? You're nothing but a skinny piece of shit."</p><p>The monster's smile changed into a frown as it jumped over to me.</p><p>"<strong>BUL...K... UP...</strong>" It snarled, curling its right hand into a fist, and prepares to hit me with it.</p><p>
  <em>'If that fist grazes me even a little bit, I'll be dead!'</em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Jisu's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>After I left the unconscious boy and Dae-shim at the former's apartment, I decided to seek help from Wook Pyeon who left a while ago. As of now, I am now in apartment 1107 with Jayhun.</p><p>"There it is again..." Jayhun said as he cleaned his sword.</p><p>"Did you hear that just now?" I asked him.</p><p>"Yes, it's pretty loud," he replied. "Someone's trying to call out all the monsters in this building."</p><p>"Maybe, the monsters are fighting each other."</p><p>"I highly doubt that... The monsters usually don't fight each other."</p><p>"What does your God say this time?" I asked again as Jayhun was in a train of thought. "Let's not give a shit about others, just hide in here and save yourself? Is that it?"</p><p>Jayhun sighed and adjusted his glasses, "Okay, fine then... Shall we?"</p><p>I nodded before I remembered 6 days ago.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Flashback Start</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <em>For a while, Dae-shim and I had to wait for Wook to come back. We tried to keep ourselves entertained but after much time has passed, we eventually got bored.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>'That mobster guy... He's late...' I thought out of worry before I grabbed my metal baseball bat and headed out there.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I then turned to Dae-shim and asked, "You coming?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Nah, you go on ahead. I'll just stay here and keep on eye on him," Dae-shim replied as I nodded and closed the door.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"...Still not working?" I noticed the elevators' current state of disrepair so I decided to take the stairway instead. It was so dimly lit there that I can only see a portion of the stairs due to little light.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Even the motion sensor lights are broken...? It all feels like a horror movie now..." I mused to myself before I noticed a man on the stairs' landing. He appears to be slumped with his head down and his back facing towards me.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You fuckers... It wasn't even my fault. But you all put it on me..." the man muttered out loud.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I was surprised by his presence.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You... have been treating me like a fucking slave and now you blame me for everything?" he continued muttering. "How is that my fault...?! I wasn't the one who fucked it up."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He lightly punched the wall in rage.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Excuse me?" I tried to call out to him but he didn't seem to hear me.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yeah... It's all fucked up society...You always cheat, lie, and backstab one another, right? It's my fault to be so naive."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He chuckled maniacally as I looked at him with confusion and uneasiness.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>'Jeez... What's wrong him? Is he crazy? What is he saying? He's creeping me out...'</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I didn't fully go down the next flight when the man dropped the bottle he was holding. It rolled down the stairs and broke at the bottom.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Ah... I wanna kill... everyone..." he muttered again.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I noticed his head turning to face me. To my shock, his face is not human, complete with red bloodshot eyes and a bleeding nose.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Boss?" he hissed at me as I readied my bat.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh, um... I'm just asking but, um... a, are you... a mon...ster?" I asked out of fear.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You fucking son of a bitch... There... you were," he snarled.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No, no!" I tried to tell him that he was mistaken. "I'm not who you think I am!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'll...k..ill...you..." the man exclaimed again as his body began to contort, with his bones cracking and his shirt ripping.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hey...! You okay?" I asked him again. "You look like you need some help!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The man's body continued to contort until he is nothing but a dark-skinned humanoid monster with a menacing face and skinny body. What was left of his clothes are his pants and shoes, the latter outgrown by his now-monster feet.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"...Or maybe it's too late for that..." I finished as I beheld the gruesome sight.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"<strong>I'll... kill... u...!</strong>" the man-turned-monster snarled as he charged towards me. Upon instinct, I hit him in the face with my bat, incapacitating it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"W, what the... hell is this?" I panted heavily before I saw the monster reverting to its original human form. He was still unconscious after being hit by my bat.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh no..." I realized what I just did to him. "It can't be... Oh my God, what have I done...?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I tried to help the man up when a voice said, "Stop! Don't go near him!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I turned around to see Jayhun by the door. He was also wielding a katana.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You will get killed if you do," he continued.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Huh? You are..." I began as I remembered my first meeting with him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Watch out!" Jayhun exclaimed as he charged at the man, who became his monster form again, and cut off the top part of the monster's head as I watched in shock.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Flashback End</span>
  </strong>
</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Hyun's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>As I watch Dae-shim, Sook, and Yeong ran up the stairs, I started to brace for the worst as the muscle monster was about to hit me with his fist. Fortunately, I didn't feel the impact of his fist on me as I noticed a katana-wielding brunette man in front of me. I even noticed that the monster's arm is bleeding.</p><p>"<strong>AAARGH... AAARGH... AAARGH...</strong>" it screamed in pain as it clutched its bleeding arm.</p><p>I watched it all happen when I felt someone grabbing me by the hood of my jacket.</p><p>"Hey!"</p><p>I turned around to see a redhead girl, probably a bit older than me, holding a bat like Dae-shim, but made of metal instead of wood.</p><p>"Hey..." I replied as I can feel blood trickling from my left eyelid.</p><p>"Get it together, okay?!" the girl said. "We gotta run now!"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Rescue (Part 4)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Hyun's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>As the girl grabbed me by the wrist, she, the man, and I headed to another room on the 11th floor.</p><p>Quiet pants can be heard throughout the room as we listened carefully, waiting for any heavy footsteps that could be heard coming down the hall.</p><p>Once there were no signs of the monster coming their way, we sighed a breath of relief and tried to catch their breath.</p><p>"It's gone." the woman began, "It looks like we barely got away."</p><p>The brunette man beside her nodded and sighed. "Lucky for us that monster is really slow.."</p><p>The two strangers then turned to me, as I was still sitting on the floor and panting heavily. I slowly met their gaze, taking in the surroundings before looking back at the two.</p><p>"Where am I..?" I said while panting, causing the man to chuckle softly.</p><p>"You must have been too busy following us so you didn't even look." He pointed out, "This is apartment number 1107, we found a lot of food here, so we're just using this place for a while. We couldn't figure out what happened to whoever lived here."</p><p>"Apartment 1107...? So we're... on the 11th floor..." I looked at him strangely as I processed the information, before suddenly something clicked in my brain, causing the panic to set in as I tried to get up on my feet.</p><p>"No..! The kids! Dae-shim!" I cried out, the sudden realization of leaving the three alone wandering the building.</p><p>"Huh? What's the matter?" the man asked me.</p><p>"Dae-shim?!" Questioned the girl, looking shocked at hearing the name.</p><p>"How do you know him?!" She asked me, causing me to turn my head in her direction.</p><p>"He...He's my neighbor...he became my partner once this all happened.." I explained, before suddenly looking up at the two strangers, giving them a pleading look.</p><p>"He's all alone!" He exclaimed, "He has two kids with her and she's waiting for me to come back!"</p><p>The redhead kept looking at him, shock easily readable on her features before they suddenly hardened.</p><p>"I'm sorry, but we can't go back out there. Especially not with that monster lumbering around." She stated. "And besides, you're infected. Am I right?"</p><p>I was surprised by what the girl said, especially the last one. I can even tell that the man in front of me is just as surprised as I am.</p><p>I lowered my head down as I tried to fathom her words.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Jayhun's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>"Infected?" I repeated what Jisu said before asking her. "Do you know each other?"</p><p>"Well, I know him but not the other way around. Before, I found him passed out after having a massive nosebleed. That was probably an early symptom," Jisu replied as I was shocked by the mention of the monsterization disease.</p><p>"Have we.. met each other?" the boy asked.</p><p>"Just answer me," Jisu interrupted. "The nosebleed, fainting, you're infected right?"</p><p>The boy didn't say anything for a while.</p><p>"Please be honest with us..." I added.</p><p>"...Yes, I am," the boy replied.</p><p>Jisu and I were surprised upon hearing his answer.</p><p>"Damn it," Jisu muttered out loud before asking again. "What's the current status...?"</p><p>"I keep hearing some voices but nothing more..." the boy continued before Jisu pointed her bat him to create some distance between them, causing the boy to back up and quickly point his weapon at her, both of them staring each other down, their expressions intense.</p><p>"H-Hey calm down-!" I urged, trying to settle both of them down before facing Jisu. "You know that there are some people who are more resistant to monsterization even among the infected."</p><p>"So what?" Jisu rebuked. "How can we be sure that he won't turn into a monster in the end?"</p><p>"Well, I'm pretty sure that God wouldn't want you to bash his brains in right now. Remember, you're the one who wanted to save this guy! We can't just leave his friend and a couple of little kids out there! Every minute they spend waiting for him is a death wish!" I continued pointing out, causing Jisu to frown at my words, realizing her mistake as she put down her bat.</p><p>"...Shit," Jisu grumbled.</p><p>"Hey, you can relax now, okay?" I reassured the boy.</p><p>"Help me."</p><p>I quickly looked at him in surprise.</p><p>"What?" I asked, bewildered at the request.</p><p>"I made a promise..." whispered the boy, "The kids... Dae-shim..."</p><p>"The kids?" Jisu repeated.</p><p>"I have to help them...they are in danger right now..." he finished, suddenly pointing his weapon at me while I flinched from the sudden movement.</p><p>Tears pricked the edges of the boy's eyes as he stared at me desperately.</p><p>"You have to help me..." he begged. "Please."</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Dae-shim's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>I waited at the bottom of the stairs, panting heavily as I tried to listen to any signs of the monster following me through the cries and whimpers of Sook and Yeong. I sadly glanced over at them, seeing them huddle in the corner as they held onto each other tightly.</p><p>"Sook...Dae-shim...is he not coming...? Did the big monster get him...?" Yeong asked, looking up at me and Sook with big tears in his eyes.</p><p>I don't know what to say. I don't even know if Hyun survived that fight. What if he got killed or something else?</p><p>I turned to Yeong, a weak smile on my face as I kneeled to meet his gaze.</p><p>"Don't worry, bud. He's coming back..." I answered, wiping away his and Sook's tears with the sleeve of my hoodie before continuing. "But, we just can't wait here. The longer we do, the more likely that monster is going to find us, so I'm going to drop you off at the nice man's apartment, and then I'll come back here and wait for Hyun." I explained, both of them nodding as they shakily stood up with me.</p><p>"We can do this." I encouraged, holding their hands and turning to go up the stairs as the door suddenly creaked open, causing me to freeze in my spot.</p><p>The eyeless monster from earlier stepped forward, growling as it touched what was left of its face.</p><p>"<strong>GR... ... IT...HURTS...</strong>" It hissed, groping around its surroundings as it shuffled around.</p><p>I held a finger up to my mouth as I looked at the kids, their trembling forms nodding as they hid behind me and trying to hold their breath the best of their ability.</p><p>The monster continued to growl as it moved around, before deciding to wander off into the hallway, its steps growing fainter.</p><p>I exhaled a little too loudly, relieved before urging the kids up the stairs. As we climb up, I notice Yeong stopping in the middle of the flight.</p><p>"Sook...Dae-shim..." he whispered through tears. "I'm so scared... My legs are shaking..."</p><p>"Don't worry, Yeong," Sook comforted him. "Dae-shim and I will protect you."</p><p>"We promise you that," I added as I gently patted him on the head.</p><p>"Come on, let's get to apartment 1408 now..." Sook whispered as we continued climbing up.</p><p>
  <strong>STOMP... STOMP... STOMP...</strong>
</p><p>"Si, sis... I, I can't move my legs..." Yeong whispered as he quaked in his proverbial boots.</p><p>I suddenly felt my heart drop, the vibrations of the monster's giant footsteps shook me to my core. Out in the corner of my eye, I could see the same muscle monster frowning form coming up the stairs. It's intense frown suddenly turning into a wide, toothy grin as it's pitch black eyes spotted us.</p><p>"<strong>PR...RO...TEIN...?</strong>" It bellowed, causing me to quickly uncoil my whip and crack it towards the monster, pushing the kids farther behind me to keep them out of harm's way.</p><p>"D-Dae-shim..." the kids whimpered, causing me to turn to them.</p><p>"Run, hurry!" I shouted, forcibly pushing them away, only for them to look at me fearfully before screaming.</p><p>"<strong>MUS...CLE...</strong>" the muscle monster bellowed again. I tried to push it back but it kept getting closer. Its smile grew bigger than ever as it flashed its blood-stained teeth at us. Sook and Yeong hugged each other for dear life as I readied my whip again.</p><p>
  <em>'Guess I should give this guy a deserving shock. Then, I'll escape with these kids.'</em>
</p><p>"<strong>I...HEAR..D...A...SOU..ND.</strong>"</p><p>My thoughts were interrupted when I noticed a familiar-looking tendril piercing the muscle monster's right pec. Sook and I turned around to notice the blind monster by the door.</p><p>"<strong>ARE...YOU...THERE...?</strong>" the blind monster hissed, causing the muscle monster to groan in discomfort, before being suddenly penetrated with more tendrils, causing it to roar in pain.</p><p>I coiled my whip back up before picking up both kids and sprinting up the stairs, not wanting or daring to look back as the monster's roars of pain suddenly turned into roars of rage. We hope to find a safe place to hide until the two monsters are gone.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Jisu's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>As Jayhun, me, and the boy exited the room, we heard a loud 'thud'.</p><p>"What was that... sound?" Jayhun asked in a trembling voice.</p><p>"It must be that muscle freak..." the boy said.</p><p>"My god..." I trailed as I remember meeting those kids</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Flashback Start</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <em>As I waited for the elevator, I heard a child saying, "Wow, what's that?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I turned around to see two kids: a girl about half of my height and her little brother.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hmm? Oh, this? It's a bass g..." I said before the little boy interrupted.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Can you shoot with that?" he asked.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No, it's not a rocket launcher..." I replied as I chuckled.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Then, what is it?" the little boy asked again.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It's a bass guitar," I replied.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Is it strong?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"...Yeah, it's very strong."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Even after the three of us entered the elevator, the little boy and I continued talking as his older sister listened uncomfortably.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Be careful. With this, you can kill a scary monster in a single shot," I continued.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Whoa~~" the little boy was awed by this.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hey, you should behave yourself. Stop it now," the little boy's sister said to him before apologizing to me. "I'm sorry..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hmmm...? Don't be, he's adorable," I smiled at her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yeah, I'm adorable!" he exclaimed as he hugged my leg. I noticed the box the girl is holding.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Pear Juice...?" I asked her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh... my dad smokes a lot and... I heard pear juice is good for heavy smokers so..." the girl answered.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh... I see," I understood what he said as I thought. 'Well, I just thought it's not something a child usually carries around...'</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Mom bought it but we took it without telling her!" the boy said.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Mom? Your mom doesn't live here?" I asked.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Mom lives in Seoul separately!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yeong!" the girl exclaimed as if this was TMI for her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Soon after, the two kids exited the elevator as it arrived on the 12th floor. The little boy even waved at me goodbye.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"So... their mom and dad are..." I said to myself before I sighed. "Just like mine."</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Flashback End</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>"They came here all the way from Seoul to meet their father," the teenage boy said.</p><p>"I know," I replied as he stopped upon hearing me.</p><p>"Do you know them?" he asked me.</p><p>"Yeah, I think..." I answered. "So where's their father?"</p><p>I didn't expect anything from him.</p><p>"He's dead," he replied.</p><p>"Shit..." I tried to fathom his words. "Okay, let's go."</p><p>"Well, I don't know if I should say this, but I just thought you should know in advance..." he began as I turned to him. "Those kids are not infected. So is Dae-shim."</p><p>I was shocked by this as I remembered when I pointed my bat at him a while ago.</p><p>"Listen, I'm sorry about before," I said.</p><p>"No, I understand."</p><p>"I don't think there are monsters nearby," Jayhun told us.</p><p>"Okay, let's get going then!" I replied as the three of us head to where Dae-shim and the two kids are.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Dae-shim's POV</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>We arrived on the 15th floor as we began searching for a safe place to hide.</p><p>"Didn't you and your friend say that it was apartment 1408? We're on the 15th floor; we're going the wrong way," Yeong said to me.</p><p>"Sorry, Yeong, but we have no time," I said.</p><p>"We can't go there now! The monsters are fighting each other," Sook added. "There may still be other people who can help us."</p><p>We tried apartment 1508 but the door is locked. Sook even tried ringing the doorbell, but there was no answer. We tried the same thing in apartment 1506, still nothing. My heart began to race as time is running out for me and the kids.</p><p>"Ugh..." Sook grumbled desperately.</p><p>"What do we do now...?" a teary-eyed Yeong asked.</p><p>"Let's try this hallway," I said as we headed there.</p><p>
  <strong>STOMP, STOMP, DRAG... STOMP, STOMP, DRAG...</strong>
</p><p>My heart began to beat more loudly out of my chest as the kids huddled close to me. We turned the corner and there he stood.</p><p>His giant and intense frown etched onto its face as it carried the blind monster in its hand, it's head completely smashed in as it laid limp and broken.</p><p>The monster quickly threw the body back as it broke the window at the end of the hallway and fell outside.</p><p>As the monster slowly crept towards us, I readied my whip again as Sook told Yeong to cover his eyes.</p><p>"After I count to 3, you two kids run. Go find Hyun and don't come back!" I yelled, preparing to fight.</p><p>"But ae-shim-!" Sook protested, causing me to turn around and interrupt before she could continue.</p><p>"No buts! Get ready!" I shouted, looking back at the buff monster as it got closer.</p><p>"1..."</p><p>
  <em>'I can hear my heart beating in my ears.'</em>
</p><p>"2..."</p><p>
  <em>'This is it. I'm sorry Hyun, take care of yourself and the kids for me.'</em>
</p><p>I took a deep breath, ready to run full speed at the monster before I was suddenly stopped.</p><p>A familiar woman, pushing a baby stroller suddenly appeared from the hall next to me, looking at me and the kids with a confused expression before suddenly looking at the monster and getting in front of me.</p><p><em>'I know that stroller,'</em> I thought before I mentally gasped. <em>'Myeong-ja Lim!'</em></p><p>"Leave them...alone..." she said.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Rescue (Part 5)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong> <span class="u">3rd Person POV</span> </strong>
</p><p>Hyun, Jisu, and Jayhun entered the stairway when they beheld a gruesome sight: a huge dent on the wall, with stains on it.</p><p>"What the hell happened here?" Jayhun was appalled upon seeing this. "...That's not... human blood."</p><p>"Maybe the monsters were fighting each other," Hyun guessed.</p><p>"Monsters fighting each other... I've seen it once, but it can't be common..."</p><p>"There's only black blood here," Jisu said as she touched the now-dried stains on the wall. "The kids and Dae-shim may still be safe."</p><p>"Let's hurry," Hyun replied as they continue climbing up the stairs to find Sook, Yeong, and Dae-shim.</p><p>
  <strong>Meanwhile, on the 15th floor...</strong>
</p><p>"Leave them...alone..."</p><p>Sook and Dae-shim stared at Myeong-ja in shock and confusion, unable to move their eyes away from her as she continued to stare down the monster.</p><p>The two tensed up as the buff monster took more steps towards her, it's immense size making it tower over Myeong-ja as she glanced between the three and the monster, a small smile gracing her lips as she looked at the monster.</p><p>"You'll do that for me, right?" She asked politely, causing the monster to frown in annoyance as it forcibly kicked her away, sending her and her stroller flying into the wall.</p><p>"Ma'am!" Dae-shim yelled, quickly regaining his focus as he quickly prepared himself to fight.</p><p>"Baby...! My baby... No... My baby..." Myeong-ja panted and wept as she tried to reach for her stroller and remembered something from her past.</p><p>
  <strong> <span class="u">Flashback Start</span> </strong>
</p><p>
  <em>Myeong-ja was inside her apartment room, huddling herself in a blanket, with the empty stroller beside her bed.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'm not getting deceived... If, if I turn, who will take care of my baby? I can't be deceived...!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Myeong-ja, I'm telling you this again. Your baby is gone," a voice in her head said.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Haha... haha... That's why I don't believe you, you lying demon," Myeong-ja said out of denial.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Open your eyes and face the reality. Your baby is dead. Your baby hasn't been here since a year ago. While you were looking away, your baby..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Shut up!" Myeong-ja interrupted as she clutched her head.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"The stroller is empty. Go ahead and see for yourself. Are you afraid? That I may be right?" the voice beckoned as Myeong-ja approached the empty stroller. "Look straight. Look straight into it!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Of course," Myeong-ja answered as she sees her baby daughter, seemingly alive, and well, at least in her mind, that is. "You're a liar."</em>
</p><p>
  <strong> <span class="u">Flashback End</span> </strong>
</p><p>Just as Dae-shim was about to strike, the monster stepped on the stroller, causing Myeong-ja to let out a piercing scream.</p><p>"NOOO!" She screeched, watching in horror as the stroller exploded into pieces under the monster's foot, making it turn it's attention back on her as it raises its fist.</p><p>"<strong>BU...L...K...</strong>"</p><p>The monster groaned, watching as the woman slowly stood up and turned her head up to face the monster.</p><p>"Ms. Myeong-ja, watch out!" Dae-shim yelled, suddenly rushing forward just as Hyun, Jisu, and Jayhun arrived.</p><p>"I actually... knew... that my child no longer exists in this world..." Myeong-ja said.</p><p>Just as Dae-shim was about to push her out the way, he watched on in horror as the woman was crushed in front of him. Her blood splattering over him as he was sent flying back from the sheer force of the punch the monster delivered... before he suddenly blacked out.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong> <span class="u">Hyun's POV</span> </strong>
</p><p>"Ms. Myeong-ja, watch out!"</p><p>My heart began to beat faster at the sound of Dae-shim's voice, running as fast as his legs could carry him before quickly turning the corner.</p><p>My eyes widened in horror as I watched my neighbor rush forward, weapon in hand as he tried to reach out towards the woman.</p><p>"Dae-shim!" I yelled, watching as the monster's fist came into contact with the woman's skull, the force of the punch so powerful it sent Dae-shim flying back, knocked back to a wall on the opposite end of the hallway.</p><p>I looked in horror as his limp body fell to the ground, no sign of movement.</p><p><em>'Now's not the time to get distracted!'</em> I thought, despite hating myself for not running to Dae-shim to get him out of harm's way, I had to act fast.</p><p>I looked up at the kids, who were shivering with fright, and took in a deep breath.</p><p>"HEY KIDS, RUN!" I yelled, catching Sook and Yeong's attention as they tore their gaze away from Dae-shim's body.</p><p>"COME ON, THIS WAY!" He urged, causing the kids to fearfully look at each other, take in a deep breath, and suddenly run forward towards Hyun as fast as they could, catching the attention of the monster as it suddenly stopped paying attention to Dae-shim's vulnerable and unconscious body.</p><p>"<strong>PRO...TE...IN...!</strong>" It growled as it turned its head to us.</p><p>"Good job, kids!" I said. "Now, stay back!"</p><p>"<strong>BU...LK...UP..!</strong>" the muscle monster grunted, suddenly growing bigger as it began walking towards us.</p><p>"Uh, how are we supposed to stop THAT?" the brunette man yelled questionably.</p><p>"How should I know?!" the redhead girl yelled back.</p><p>The monster roared, suddenly reaching out towards us before a body quickly pounced onto the monster's large shoulders.</p><p>Shocked, the three of us watched as the woman before them who was crushed right before our eyes, woke up as she stared at the monster with dead, bloodshot eyes.</p><p>I quickly took this opportunity to dash past the monster towards Dae-shim.</p><p>Once I approached him, I quickly scooped him up into his arms as my eyes widened at the small puddle of blood that surrounded his head.</p><p>"<strong>KAARGH...</strong>" Groaned the monster in pain, the woman's nails digging into its skin as she stared the monster down, blood starting to seep from the wounds.</p><p>The monster quickly grabbed hold of the woman's head before the girl laid a sudden blow to the monster's knee with her baseball bat, causing it to buckle and fall onto its injured knee.</p><p>With the monster distracted by the woman and its injured knee, I sprinted past just in time to reach the children before turning to watch the girl.</p><p>"TAKE THE KIDS AND RUN!" She commanded, quickly taking a step back from the monster.</p><p>I was unsure whether to try and help them or leave them alone with the monster. I shook my head, making Sook, Yeong, and Dae-shim as his priority.</p><p>"I'll meet you back at 1408!" I replied, running towards the stairwell with the kids and heading down.</p><p>"Let's go!" I said to the kids.</p><p>The entire way down, I couldn't help but keep fearing about what will happen to Dae-shim with the extent of his injuries and unconscious state. Shockingly enough, he was still breathing. Still, it didn't make me feel any better.</p><p>I thought to myself, <em>'How bad would it be until he woke up? Would he <strong>EVER</strong> wake up? I've heard about how bad concussions can get, some people even end up in comas because of them, and now is <strong>NOT </strong>the time to have one.'</em></p><p>I suddenly felt someone tugging on my jacket and noticed it was Yeong getting my attention.</p><p>"Hyun...is Dae-shim d-dead..?" Yeong squeaked out, tears in his eyes as he looked at the girl in his arms.</p><p>I gave him a weak smile.</p><p>"N-No...don't you guys worry, he just hit his head is all. He's going to be okay." I claimed, causing Sook and Yeong to nod at what I said despite still looking worried.</p><p><em>'I just hope he <strong>IS</strong> going to be okay..'</em> he thought sadly, exiting the stairwell and hurriedly towards Dusik's apartment.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Jisu's <span class="u">POV</span></strong>
</p><p>With the boy, Dae-shim, and the kids heading downstairs, Jayhun and I decided to deal with the muscle monster and help that woman. Jayhun readied his katana and slashed its arm.</p><p>"<strong>KA...AA...R...GH...!</strong>" it screamed in pain as it threw the woman to the wall.</p><p>"Hey," Jayhun called me.</p><p>"Yeah?" I replied in question.</p><p>"Let me take care of this," he said as I tensed up in shock.</p><p>"You'll get yourself killed," I replied.</p><p>"<strong>KA...AA...R...GH...!</strong>" the monster groaned again as its wounds heal up. Jayhun told me to stay on the side so I did.</p><p>"Hey-" Jayhun called out to it. "That great muscle of yours can't stand for this? You stupid loser."</p><p>The monster contorted its face into one of rage as it was offended to what Jayhun said.</p><p>"<strong>OO...O...OH...!</strong>"</p><p>"Yeah, that's more like it," Jayhun said as he ran ahead with the monster chasing after him.</p><p>I then turned to the woman, who was still unconscious.</p><p>"Uh... ma'am, are you okay?!" I asked her as I offered a hand. Just then, I noticed her monstrous hand and readied my bat in case she attacks me. However, she didn't even dare to attack me. Instead, she just got up as her hand and face returned to their normal states.</p><p>"Where... are... they...?" the woman asked while panting.</p><p>I hesitated at first before answering, "They're safe." before helping the woman up.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong> <span class="u">Jayhun's POV</span> </strong>
</p><p>I continued running down the hallway as the monster kept on chasing me. I then headed to the rightmost hallway, where it reached a dead end with a window and the body of a dead man.</p><p>"<strong>BU...L...K... UP...</strong>" the muscle monster snarled as it approached me.</p><p>"There's no greater than to lay down one's life for one's friends," I said to myself. "You are my friends if you do..."</p><p>"<strong>O...OO...HHH...!</strong>"</p><p>"...what I command," I finished as I dodged at the last minute. After that, I heard the muscle monster crash through the wall and fall to the ground.</p><p>"Amen," I panted. After this, I helped the woman up as we headed to Jisu's apartment.</p><p>"I didn't expect to have guests like this," Jisu said as she welcomed us in.</p><p><em>'Smells like cigarettes in here,'</em> I sighed as I took a whiff of the smell of the room.</p><p>"Let's just take what we have," Jisu said as we helped her in stocking the essentials. I noticed a red bass guitar on Jisu's bed.</p><p>"Aren't you taking this?" I asked Jisu about the guitar but she didn't say anything.</p><p>"Apartment 1408, right?" she said as she readied her bag.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong> <span class="u">Hyun's POV</span> </strong>
</p><p>As I neared closer to the door, I noticed something on the floor.</p><p>Blood.</p><p>I quickly pulled my earbuds out as I hurriedly moved towards the door, blood leading towards the door and dripping off the doorknob. My heart began to pound hard as I imagined what had happened behind this door.</p><p>"Uh, hello...!?" I hesitated and knocked on the door.</p><p>"It's open." The man said, much to my relief. I struggled to open the door while carrying Dae-shim.</p><p>Once I opened it, there sat Dusik, holding his arm as it bled. Dusik looked up at me, a smile stopping short as he noticed Dae-shim's limp body in my arms.</p><p>"Is he...?" The man implied, raising an eyebrow. I shook my head as he placed Dae-shim on the couch.</p><p>"He's fine, shockingly-" I began. "He got flung into a wall while trying to fight a giant monster," I explained, my expression increasing with worry as I looked at my neighbor's face, which was full of discomfort and blood dripping from his forehead to his chin.</p><p>"God...it hasn't been that long since I last saw you two and one of you almost got maimed by a powerful monster," He exclaimed, sighing exasperatedly as he dug through his many drawers and tossed a roll of bandages towards me.</p><p>"Patch him up with that before he bleeds out. I don't need any blood on my damn couch." He mumbled in annoyance, though his worried expression said otherwise.</p><p>Hyun silently nodded, sitting Dae-shim up a bit as he began wrapping the bandage around his forehead.</p><p>Dusik watched him and sighed, running his hand through his hair.</p><p>"What am I going to do with you two?"</p><p>After setting Dae-shim down on the couch and placing his bags and weapon beside the couch, I noticed bowls of rice and opened tuna cans for Sook and Yeong.</p><p>"So, you were heating rice?" I asked as I wrapped a bandage on Dusik's arm. "How did <strong>this </strong>ever happen to you?"</p><p>"It's not a big deal... It won't kill me," Dusik reassured me. "I was going to end that blind prick, but... well, it almost got me."</p><p>"Ah..." I understood what he said.</p><p>Dusik continued, "I still managed to blow up its ear though. I'm sure they also feel fear. He ran away after he got shot by this baby."</p><p>He showed me his air gun.</p><p>"Otherwise, he could've gotten more," he finished as I was surprised by everything he said.</p><p>"That's huge information," I said.</p><p>"Are you being sarcastic?" Dusik asked me.</p><p>"No... of course not."</p><p>Dusik and I turned to the two kids, with Yeong the only one eating the food.</p><p>"It's the time in which it's more difficult to find reasons to survive than actually survive. I think at least we found a reason," Dusik said to me before turning to Sook. "Why aren't you eating? Go ahead, kiddo."</p><p>Sook couldn't say anything. Dusik turned to me again.</p><p>"By the way, you said there were other survivors?" he asked me.</p><p>"Yes! They're fighting the big monster right now! We have to go and help them...!" I answered.</p><p>"Looks like the situation's already over, it's quiet," Dusik pointed that there are no other noises from upstairs as I started sweating out of worry.</p><p>"Are you gonna have that big frown on your face every time? It's not your fault!"</p><p>"But... I asked them to help rescue the kids..."</p><p>We are then interrupted by a knock on the door. Dusik readied his gun but I stopped him as I knew that it was the 'survivors' I mentioned.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong> <span class="u">Dusik's POV</span> </strong>
</p><p>Hyun and I invited the three people inside my apartment. They told me about the monster and how the man defeated it by tricking it into ramming into the hallway dead-end. I also told them that Dae-shim is resting and had his head bandaged.</p><p>"I'm having a meal together with people in a long time. I like this," I chimed in before a give a can of drink to the man sitting beside Hyun. "Mr. Samurai who defeated the monster, take this drink~"</p><p>"Oh, I don't drink..." he tried to refuse my offer. "BTW, is it okay to drink in a time like this?"</p><p>I sighed at his words, "You're no fun, we could die any day here anyway. We should have some fun. So, where'd you learn how to wield a sword?"</p><p>"At kendo club..." he answered.</p><p>At the corner of my eye, I noticed the two children approaching the woman, who is sitting at the far end of the couch, beside the still-unconscious Dae-shim.</p><p>"Thank you for saving us," they said to her as she smiled.</p><p>"Aha!" the man snapped in fingers in realization before asking me. "Sir, do you have a TV?"</p><p>"TV? I have one," I replied. "You want me to take it out?"</p><p>"Oh, yeah. It's eight o'clock..." the redhead girl agreed with the man.</p><p>"What, they're still playing TV?" I turned on the TV.</p><p>"You guys didn't know?" the man said. "Very sporadically, they play news at eight o'clock. Poor image quality like a pirated broadcast, though."</p><p>The TV screen is still all static.</p><p>"Not today..." the man mused before the screen picked up the newscast.</p><p>"Oh, it's on," I noticed the pickup.</p><p>
  <strong>Reporter: Today we have a very important person. I'd like to invite Sangho Han from the Korean Hunting Association.</strong>
</p><p>"Hunting... Asso...ciation?" the redhead girl trailed.</p><p>
  <strong>Reporter: You've claimed that there was an effective way to kill monsters. Is that true?</strong>
</p><p>I can't believe what the reporter said on TV. An effective way to kill monsters?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Tension</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>3rd Person POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>All the people in Dusik's room (sans Dae-shim, who is still unconscious) continued watching the news on TV.</p><p>
  <strong>Sangho: There's this certain period of time when you can kill the monsters very easily.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Reporter: What do you mean?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Sangho: They kind of go back and forth before they completely transform. It's also the time when they're vulnerable the most.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Reporter: Wow, thank you for this information.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Sangho: And there's more. Even during this time, they have amazing recuperative powers, but in an event of serious physical damage such as complete cut off of body parts or destruction of important parts such as eyes or ears, they cannot be recovered.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Reporter: What if after they've transformed into monsters completely?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Sangho: It's already late if they've completely transformed. After the complete transformation, they won't die even if their heads get blown off. They show amazing regenerative abilities on almost all of their body parts. It's almost impossible for an ordinary person who can't have strong firepower to kill a monster after their full mutation.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Reporter: You mean... in other words, we can kill monsters if we have strong firepower?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Sangho: Yes. Monsters are also living creatures, and they are affected by fire or electricity. It won't be possible to regenerate if their body gets shattered by explosives.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Reporter: But then why isn't the army who has such firepower failing to resolve this situation?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Sangho: I don't know why, but I'm guessing that monsterization has progressed rapidly within the military because there's no other place to release your desires than the military...</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Reporter: Well... I see. So, if we see someone who goes back and forth between turning into a monster and a human, you're saying we should deal with them quickly...</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Sangho: Ethical issues remain, whether we see someone in that state as a human or as a monster.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Reporter: Well, I don't think it's a question we can decide right here. So then is there a way to kill a monster who has become fully monsterized?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Sangho: Uh... it'll be very difficult to kill... I'll tell you how to make and use weapons that can hurt monsters and they're...</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>THUD-</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Camera crew member: A mon... monster came into our studio! Everybody, just run for now!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Reporter: Mr. Han, this way!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Sangho: Damn... if I had only my gears...</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>THUD-</strong>
</p><p>And with that, the TV screen went static. Almost everyone in the room was silent for a while.</p><p>Dusik sighed, "What a damn useful info that was."</p><p>"...Got cut off when he was about to say something important," Jayhun said as Dusik turned off the TV.</p><p>"Hey! We can kill monsters with that, right?" Yeong piped up as he pointed to Jisu's bass.</p><p>Jisu sweat-dropped with nervousness, "Oh, that's only used as a secret weapon.</p><p>"Phew, let's just have a drink!" Dusik chimed as he grabbed another can.</p><p>"Uh... Alcohol in this situation would be a little... You even got wounded," Jayhun replied.</p><p>"Damn..." Dusik sighed. "You're so boring!"</p><p>Hyun looked on to everyone, especially Jisu.</p><p><em>'...So she was the cause of the noise from upstairs,'</em> he thought before turning to Dae-shim. <em>'Oh, Dae-shim, what will I ever do with you.'</em></p><p>"Hey, just so you know..." Hyun began.</p><p>"Hmm?" Dusik interrupted. "Why, you want some drinks too?"</p><p>"...I'm also infected," Hyun continued.</p><p>Everyone who heard this was surprised.</p><p>"When I completely become a monster, please go ahead and kill me," Hyun finished.</p><p>The rest went silent.</p><p>"Damn kid, you're ruining the mood," Dusik answered. "We'll worry about that when it happens..."</p><p>Jisu got up and walked over to Hyun. She sat down and stared at him intensely, much to Hyun's discomfort.</p><p>"Let me also ask you a favor. I want you to kill me when I become a monster," she said as she smiled.</p><p>Hyun blushed at this.</p><p>"Got it?"</p><p>"Yes..." he replied.</p><p>Suddenly, everyone heard loud and frantic gasping. They turned to see Dae-shim tossing and turning under his sheets, cold sweat running down his face.</p><p>"What's happening to him?" Sook asked out of worry.</p><p>Myeong-ja walked over and placed her hand on Dae-shim's forehead.</p><p>"He's fine, just having a nightmare is all," she said.</p><p>"I'll get a glass of water," Jayhun said as he head over to the fridge to find a pitcher of water.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Dae-shim's POV (Dream)</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <em>"DAE-SHIM..."</em>
</p><p>I slowly opened my eyes to the call of my name, looking around as I was met with complete darkness with splashes of red and brown. I felt my head throbbing terribly, causing me to hold my head as I gritted my teeth in pain.</p><p><em>"What is the place?"</em> I whispered as I looked around the place, finding nothing but endless darkness as far my eyes can see. I tried to walk but my feet felt heavy. I didn't care though. I wanted to find a way out of this void.</p><p><em>"Hello. Is anyone here?"</em> I called out to anyone but got nothing. Suddenly I noticed a hideous blob of flesh with eyeballs appearing before my very eyes.</p><p>My body beginning to tremble as their cold, lifeless, and menacing gaze began analyzing me.</p><p>
  <em>"WHAT IS YOUR DESIRE?"</em>
</p><p>The eyes seemed to hiss, making me wince and grip my skull as the throbbing began to increase.</p><p>"Who are you?" I asked the eyes bit they didn't seem to answer.</p><p>That same question kept repeating in my mind and I tried to ignore it but to no avail.</p><p>Those words suddenly began to increase in volume, immediately becoming too loud to bare as I fell to my knees and gripped my head.</p><p>
  <em>"WAKE UP!"</em>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>(Reality)</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>My eyes suddenly shot open as I panted loudly and wiped the sweat off my face, my own green eyes meeting brown eyes. Only, they didn't look familiar. They stared at me with concern behind a pair of simple frames, they began to look relieved once they saw me looking at them.</p><p>"Ugh... what happened?" I whispered, confused as I began looking around to see Dusik, Jisu, Myeong-ja, Sook, Yeong, and Hyun nearby. I then clutched my head as it still hurt.</p><p>"You just had a bad dream, you were moving and sweating in your sleep." the man explained, concern evident in his voice before handing me a glass of water. "Here. Drink this."</p><p>"You're from... apartment 1506 ...right?" I muttered, suddenly remembering seeing him around as I drank the water.</p><p>He smiled and nodded.</p><p>"I'm Jayhun, by the way," He said, holding his hand out to me,.</p><p>"Dae-shim, it's nice to meet you," I replied as I shook his hand.</p><p>A while later, Dusik gave me an update about the news they watched a while ago. I was shocked. Killing monsters? I can't believe it!</p><p>"So... how are you feeling?" Hyun asked me.</p><p><em>'Should I tell him about the nightmare I had?'</em> I thought to myself and decided not to tell him so he and the others wouldn't worry.</p><p>"I'm okay, a little hurt and shaken, though..." I trailed off, glancing at Myeong-ja.</p><p>I remembered when that woman went berserk and attacked that burly monster from before. I even remembered the time she nearly died from being crushed by that burly monster's fist.</p><p>"She's...infected.." Jayhun mumbled quietly, catching my attention.</p><p>"It's true.." Hyun began, looking down.</p><p>"She helped us get away, she's just like me, and Dae-shim," He explained, causing Dae-shim to silently nod as she looked between him and Myeong-ja.</p><p>An awkward silence fell between us, unsure of what to say from here. I tried to fathom everything in this room. Now there were two infected people in the room, I didn't want any of them to get the wrong idea.</p><p>I tried to say something, but Jayhun interrupted me.</p><p>"H-Hey...Why don't we go back to sleep now? It's late, we've all been through a lot today." He said as Hyun and I nodded.</p><p>And with that, we all decided to hit the sack.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>3rd Person POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>Meanwhile, outside the building under the cracked roof of a loading dock, there laid two bodies on the pavement. One was the blind monster Hyun and Dae-shim dealt with this morning and the other is a woman who threw herself from the window.</p><p>As the blind monster got up he turned to 'see' the dead woman beside him. After a brief silence, the blind monster ate parts of her dead body to regenerate all the wounds he was given.</p><p>"No one's on the fourth floor," a voice said. The blind monster turned to where the voice came from.</p><p>"Let's just block up to the fourth and go back," the voice continued.</p><p>"No, we have to go as much as possible while we can," another voice retorted.</p><p>"Jesus, it's too dark now, you brat!"</p><p>"Wow, you're a coward."</p><p>"I said I'm a goodfella!"</p><p>"Gosh, okay, Mr. Cowardly Goodfella!"</p><p>"Hey, you brat!"</p><p>"<strong>Y...OU...TH...E...RE...?</strong>" the blind monster groaned before shooting its arm through the fourth-floor window.</p><p>"Huh?" "What the?" The voices were Eun Lee's and Wook Pyeon's as they were surprised by the sudden appearance of the tendril breaking the window and puncturing the ceiling. Suddenly, the blind monster crashed through the window and into the hallway, causing the two to dodge and duck.</p><p>"You little shit," Wook grunted at the blind monster before cracking his knuckles. "What the hell are you staring at?"</p><p><em>'That monster... doesn't have eyes,'</em> Eun thought as her heart starts to race.</p><p>Wook then readied himself to fight the monster.</p><p>"...Are you really going to do this?" Eun asked.</p><p>"What else can I do? Persuade him?" Wook replied.</p><p>"<strong>I...HE...AR...D...Y..OU...?</strong>" the blind monster snarled before shooting its arm at Wook. Fortunately, Wook dodged it and started pummeling the monster left and right.</p><p>"<strong>KA...RG...H...</strong>" the blind monster screamed in pain before Wook delivered a right hook, knocking it out.</p><p>"Brat!" Wook called out as Eun tosses a bottle of thinner.</p><p>"You haven't taken a shower in a while, huh?" Wook taunted the monster as it got up.</p><p>"<strong>I..T..H...UR...T...S...</strong>" the blind monster groaned.</p><p>"It's shower time!" Wook said as he splashed the alcohol on the blind monster.</p><p>"My brother likes scale models and I happened to find this at home," Eun said as she brandished her lighter and an aerosol spray can. Turning the lighter on and positioned it in front of the nozzle. Pressing it, Eun turns the aerosol spray can into a flamethrower, with the fire incinerating the blind monster. As the fire touched its skin, all the monster could do was scream painfully and helplessly.</p><p>"Time to die, you blind fuck!" Wook said as he gave a kick to the blind monster before turning to Eun. "Brat, let's step back now!"</p><p>They then hid by the corner of the window. The blind monster still tried to attack by shooting its arm again and spreading it to impale anyone nearby. The tendrils barely missed Wook, only giving him a small cut on the waist.</p><p>"Argh-!" Wook grunted in pain.</p><p>"Hey!" Eun notices the cut.</p><p>"I'm fine. Just stay still!" Wook reassured as they waited for the blind monster to stop attacking. He then noticed the monster retracting its arm as it laid down on its spot while burning.</p><p>"Hey, hey!" Hyuk called out from nearby before poking out of the adjacent hallway. "What the hell's going on here?"</p><p>"What do you think? We've killed one," Wook replied.</p><p>"Yuck! It stinks!" Hyuk recoiled in disgust before spraying the burning corpse with a fire extinguisher.</p><p>"Hey, you're bleeding..." a man notices the cut on Wook's waist.</p><p>"Oh- I'm fine. I can take this," Wook reassured.</p><p>Hyuk sighed, "Thank God, it was a small one."</p><p>"Yeah," Wook nodded. "Like you said, small ones are no big deal. They are goddamn nothing."</p><p>"Their stats seem to be focused on strength and regeneration. Their defense is weaker than we thought. And their flame resistance is crap since they're biotype," Hyuk explained. "It seems like they can't regenerate after they receive flame damage.</p><p>"Where did he learn that strange tone?" Wook asked Eun who only sighed in exasperation.</p><p>"By playing too many video games..."</p><p>"People speak like that after playing some games?!" the second man was surprised at this.</p><p>"I'm sure it's dead," the first man assured as it poked the now-dead blind monster with his stick. "So what do we do now?"</p><p>Hyuk pondered for a while before saying, "Don't we have food storage?"</p><p>His words were met with silence. Wook then stomped the monster corpse, frightening Hyuk.</p><p>"Just cut the crap and hand me a marker," he said.</p><p>"Okay..." Hyuk replied as he gave Wook a marker. After this, he marked the door to the stairwell with a circle using the marker.</p><p>"Good. We've cleared the fourth floor," Wook said.</p><p>"There are still no survivors or supplies to be found and it's getting too late," the second man said. "Why don't we stop here for today?"</p><p>"Yeah," Hyuk agreed. "I think we should. I'm so damn exhausted."</p><p>Wook then drew a small line on his arm.</p><p>"How many times you'll have to draw that line going forward?" Eun asked.</p><p>"Let's stay positive, okay?"</p><p>Eun understood what he meant and said, "...We got one of them."</p><p>"What, you want a high-five or something, brat?"</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>Wook and Eun then share a high-five.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Deploy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Jisu's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>As I stood guard by the entrance while everyone else is asleep (Dusik, Jayhun, Myeong-ja, and the kids on the floor, Dae-shim by the table, and the boy by the bathroom door), I turned to the boy. Once I approached him, he woke up and flinched at my sudden appearance.</p><p>"Why are you so surprised?" I asked. "It's your turn."</p><p>"Uh... sorry?" he didn't hear what I said.</p><p>"It's your turn to stand guard," I repeated.</p><p>"Ah..." he finally understood as I sat down beside him. We then looked at Jayhun, Dusik, Myeong-ja, and the kids sleeping on the floor and Dae-shim sleeping by the table.</p><p>"That's some great survival instincts, right? I can't believe they can sleep so peacefully in a situation like this," I commented to him but he only said nothing.</p><p>"I'm Jisu Yoon. 20 years old," I introduced myself but he still said nothing. "Are you usually this quiet? You're making me feel embarrassed."</p><p>"Oh, no! I was just..." the boy replied. "I'm Hyun Cha, 18 years old."</p><p>"18 years old, like Dae-shim? Tough time," I mused t his words.</p><p>"Is it?"</p><p>"I'm sorry," I apologized.</p><p>"Oh, it's okay, you already apologized..." the boy, now named Hyun Cha, assured me.</p><p>"I'm sorry, I keep having the same thought. Why do you think I'm not sleeping even after my turn is over?"</p><p>"I see..."</p><p>"What do you feel when you're going through the monsterization process?"</p><p>"I don't know... I feel like it's constantly trying to attack my mind as if it wants to control my will. It feels like it will completely take over if I let my guard down. I was able to resist it once, but I'm not sure what will happen next time."</p><p>"I don't fully understand..."</p><p>"Dae-shim and I saw a strange thing on the 12th floor."</p><p>"Huh?"</p><p>"It was something that looked like a transparent liquid. It just went away without attacking us. What kind of desire could that monster have?"</p><p>"...Well... if that monster has transformed after the monsterization incident broke out, could it be that its desire was not to be seen by other monsters in order to survive? In my opinion, there will be even more starving monsters. The longer we are isolated, the less food we will have. There will be more starving monsters. Doesn't it creep you out if you think about it?"</p><p>Hyun didn't even answer as there was silence between us.</p><p>"Things are looking pretty bad..." Hyun mused forlornly.</p><p>"Yeah," I agreed.</p><p>"What kind of monster I become?" Hyun curiously asked.</p><p>"Well, that, I don't know..." I answered before I noticed something on his hand. I grabbed it and looked at the welts lining on his wrists. "...You...! What's this? When did you get hurt?"</p><p>"Oh, this... I've had this for a very long time..." Hyun trailed.</p><p>"For a very long time?" I was surprised by this. "Are you by any chance..."</p><p>"Well... It's not something to be proud of," he admitted before I pinched his cheek.</p><p>"Ouch! What are you doing?!"</p><p>"Don't do that to yourself. No matter what happens, you must never do that to yourself," I requested.</p><p>"Wha, what? It's none of your business!" he exclaimed as elbowed by hand away. "What do you know about me? We just met today. And you tried to kill me with a bat. And now you're acting like... this is ridiculous."</p><p>"I wasn't trying to kill you."</p><p>"Uh, whatever."</p><p>We didn't talk to each other again for a while.</p><p>"Anyway, there isn't anyone to grieve me when I die," Hyun lamented.</p><p>"That's not true," I retorted.</p><p>"Trust me, there isn't."</p><p>"Yes, there is."</p><p>"I said no! Because they're already dead," Hyun yelled. "Way before the world has become this shit, they were all killed in an accident... everyone except me..."</p><p>I couldn't help but feel bad for him and what he had been through.</p><p>"This fucking sucks..."</p><p>"I'm sorry..." I mused. "But there will always be someone... Just trust me..."</p><p>I remembered my time with my boyfriend Haerang.</p><p>
  <strong>Flashback Start</strong>
</p><p>I and Haerang were relaxing at a park at night.</p><p><em>"Tonight's gig was freaking awesome, Haerang!"</em> I said with glee.</p><p><em>"Who cares what you think?"</em> Haerang asked rhetorically. <em>"What matters is whether people liked it or not."</em></p><p><em>"Come on, you're being too hard on yourself, you're an artist!"</em> I assured him. "Rock and roll, baby!"</p><p>Haerang smirked, <em>"You like the rock and roll life too much for an acoustic player."</em></p><p>
  <em>"Acoustic is also rock."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hmm... okay."</em>
</p><p>We enjoyed the warm breeze and the bright street lamps before Haerang started talking.</p><p><em>"The man who was standing in the back, that was Mr. Joh, the CEO of KH Music,"</em> he said.</p><p>I was surprised and interested in this, <em>"Woa... KKKK...H Music? For real? I've recently heard a rumor that they want to pick a rock band."</em></p><p>
  <em>"He just walked out in the middle of the performance."</em>
</p><p><em>"...KH Music will go bust soon,"</em> I said.</p><p><em>"Huh?"</em> Haerang asked.</p><p>
  <em>"They've got a bad taste in music, no way they will stay in business."</em>
</p><p>Just then, Haerang placed something on my thumb.</p><p><em>"This... is a fingerpick,"</em> he said. <em>"I made it myself."</em></p><p><em>"Whoa!"</em> I reacted in awe.</p><p>
  <em>"In one year, I'll make one in gold and give it to you. With a big diamond on top."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Thanks, Haerang. And by the way, it's Jisu, not Zisu."</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Flashback End</strong>
</p><p>After this, Hyun and I decided to call it a night and doze off until morning.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>3rd Person POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>Hyun woke up and noticed it was morning. He looked over to Jisu, who is still asleep.</p><p>"You're an idiot," she mumbled in her sleep.</p><p>Hyun closely inspected her face so she would not wake up.</p><p>
  <em>'She definitely resembles her.'</em>
</p><p>After almost everyone else has woken up (Yeong was still asleep on the couch), Sook looked out to window, gazing at her dad's body on the pavement.</p><p>"Dad..." she whimpered before her view was blocked by the curtain and a hand was gently placed on top of her shoulder.</p><p>She looked up and saw Dae-shim and Myeong-ja (the latter with her hand on Sook's shoulder), looking saddened as the two grown-ups looked at the closed window before turning their attention back to Sook and gave them small smiles.</p><p>"Ma'am... Dae-shim..." she trailed.</p><p>"Don't be so sad.." she cooed, kneeling and wiping her tears with her sleeve. "Your dad must have gone to heaven. You know I'm telling you the truth right?"</p><p>"Yes..." Sook replied.</p><p>"But don't worry. He's still going to protect you and Yeong from the afterlife. And besides, you still have us and your mom, right?" Dae-shim asked the girl and she nodded while Myeong-ja patted her head.</p><p>Jisu looked at her new and improved bat (now covered in spiked metal) in awe, giving it a small test swing as she examined it.</p><p>"Wow, this looks pretty powerful.." she muttered, impressed as her eyes roamed the weapon.</p><p>"I hope it's as powerful as it looks." Dusik started, scratching the back of his neck as he frowned in dissatisfaction.</p><p>"I would've been able to make it better if I had more materials." He complained, causing Jisu to chuckle.</p><p>Jayhun looked at the makeshift shield in confusion, looking as if he was having a bit of trouble holding it up.</p><p>"Thanks, this will definitely come in handy." She responded.</p><p>"You know, I've always been pretty good with my hands," Dusik pointed out. "If only I had some real blueprints..."</p><p>Jayhun looked at the makeshift shield in confusion, looking as if he was having a bit of trouble holding it up. A small button on the handle grabbed his attention, causing him to raise his eyebrow as he ran his thumb over the button, only for him to jolt as Dusik pointed at him.</p><p>"Hey- Don't press that here." The man told him sternly, causing Jayhun to jump from surprise and give him an apologetic smile.</p><p>"Ah, okay," he muttered, quickly putting the shield to hang off his backpack as Jisu gathered her things.</p><p>The rest of the group stood in front of Jisu and Jayhun, giving them small smiles as they stood by the entrance.</p><p>"Well, well. So sad to say goodbye, guys. Thanks for keeping me company for the past few days." Dusik thanked them, giving them a big smile as the pair smiles back.</p><p>"Likewise," Jisu replied.</p><p>"So, what's your plan?" Dae-shim asked, causing Jisu to turn her attention to him.</p><p>"First, we'll head down to the first floor, escape this building, and get a car to find a safe place." The redhead stated, only for Dusik to sigh in dissatisfaction.</p><p>"That sounds like a suicide plan to me." He mumbled, raising an eyebrow.</p><p>"You guys have been doing okay in APT. 1107 until now, right? Even if you make it out of here alive, is there any guarantee that there will be a safer place than here?" He questioned, causing the room to fall silent.</p><p>Jisu smiled a bit, despite it looking like a nervous one instead of a natural one.</p><p>"Obviously, we can't stay here forever. We've got to move while we still can. We've got enough supplies too." she argued.</p><p>"Thank you for making this gear and sharing your food with us. May God bless you," Jayhun said as he bowed.</p><p>"I am a Buddhist," Dusik said as Jayhun sweat-dropped.</p><p>Jisu's nervous smile turned into a sheepish one at the man's reaction, rubbing the back of her neck out of nervous habit.</p><p>"We'll come back once we find a safe place!" Jisu reassured, hoping to alleviate Dusik's tension.</p><p>"You shouldn't make a promise you can't keep." Dusik scolded.</p><p>The feeling in the room was tense as everyone fell silent once again. The departure of Jisu and Jayhun felt almost sad, despite their promise of coming back once they found a safe place, Dae-shim couldn't help but worry.</p><p><em>'It's bad enough to fight monsters in this apartment building, it must be worse fighting monsters out in the streets,'</em> Dae-shim thought.</p><p>"There's a saying that..." Jisu spoke up. "Even the darkest night, disappears in dim light."</p><p>Hyun tensed, his eyes widening at her words as he paid closer attention.</p><p>"It may be a small possibility, but there's still hope," She claimed, smiling more as Dusik scoffed at her words.</p><p>"So, is the one who said that cheesy quote still alive?" He asked, causing Jisu's smile to falter only just a little bit.</p><p>She shrugged, looking at him as she chuckled.</p><p>"I don't know," she confessed.</p><p>"A small possibility of hope, huh?" Hyun mumbles, rising to his feet as everyone looked at him surprised.</p><p>He grabbed his backpack and put it on, shocking Dusik and Dae-shim as he started walking towards them.</p><p>"Uh, what are you doing, Hyun?" Dae-shim asked.</p><p>"Let's go with them, Dae-shim. Together," He insisted, hoping his neighbor would come with him.</p><p>Dae-shim looked at him, shocked at and confused by his sudden decision.</p><p>"But, Hyun, we don't even know what's going on in town. We're not even sure if there are other survivors," Dae-shim hesitated.</p><p>"We can't just sit here and wait to die, can we," Hyun claimed, not straying from his word.</p><p>"We won't know unless we leave, do you want to just sit here and wonder what would have happened if you take that chance and left?" He asked, watching as his neighbor and friend started to think, taking in his words.</p><p>Dae-shim sighed, mentally agreeing with Hyun's words. He knows that outside wouldn't be as safe as his room, but what choice does he have?</p><p>"Okay. I'm going in," Dae-shim replied as he readied his whip and two bags. "Besides, there is strength in numbers."</p><p>Dusik groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.</p><p>"Ha... oh my, everybody's so eager to die," He muttered.</p><p>Myeong-ja suddenly stepped up, looking at the four while looking hopeful. "Excuse me. I have a favor to ask you. If possible...can you please retrieve the body of the children's father?" She asked politely, causing the kids to look down tearfully.</p><p>The four grown-ups looked at each other with unsure expressions. Dusik uncomfortably rubbing his neck as he avoided anyone's gaze to excuse himself from the situation.</p><p>Hyun suddenly looks up, nodding as he looked at Myeong-Ja.</p><p>"Okay, we'll try. Ma'am, do not let that monster take over." He claimed, causing the woman to smile and bow.</p><p>"Please be safe..." Yeong whispered, causing Dae-shim to go smile and gave him a warm hug, causing the boy to smile.</p><p>"You don't need to worry about us. As Jisu said, we'll be back once we find a safe place to live!" He exclaimed, ruffling the child's hair as he stood up.</p><p>"Thank you so much for saving us. Be careful out there. Don't turn into a monster," Sook told Hyun worriedly, only for Hyun to give her a comforting smile and nod.</p><p>Everyone said their goodbyes, hugs were exchanged along with sad smiles as half the group left the room, leaving Dusik and Myeong-Ja to take care of themselves and the children.</p><p>The four walked in silence, making their way down the broken and gore-filled hallway.</p><p>Dae-shim opened his shoulder bag to take a peek at the cure he made.</p><p><em>'After getting word about killing monsters, I'm not sure if I can save <strong>all </strong>of them. And what if those that I will save turn out to be bad people who will return to their habits if they are saved,'</em> Dae-shim thought to himself as he closed his bag.</p><p>"Where's the car?" Jisu asked Jayhun.</p><p>"In the outside parking lot," Jayhun replied.</p><p>As for Hyun, doubts began to cloud his mind as he began to think of the possibility of not even making it out the door before all four of them died a horrible death, or worse, he could turn any minute and eat his friends.</p><p>The thought of friends' bloodied and mangled bodies stopped him in his tracks.</p><p>"Hey..." he spoke up, causing Dae-shim to notice and turn around.</p><p>"Something wrong, Hyun?" he asked, noticing the worried look on his friend's face.</p><p>"Dusik may be right." He claimed, looking up at Dae-shim, catching the boy off guard.</p><p>"What do you mean?" Dae-shim asked, walking closer to him. "You were the one who wanted to leave with Jisu and Jayhun."</p><p>"Dae-shim, we could die if we leave this building!" He exclaimed, causing Jisu to roll her eyes and put a hand on her hip.</p><p>"Jesus, do you want to do this now?" She asked, clearly annoyed.</p><p>Hyun stayed silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts before looking at Jisu.</p><p>"I can't be sure, but..." he stopped, looking unsure again before continuing to speak.</p><p>"I think there are survivors on the first floor." He claimed, catching Jisu and Jayhun off guard.</p><p>Dae-shim's face lit up from realization, quickly turning to Jayhun and Jisu and nodding.</p><p>"He's right! And I was there when we first had contact with them through a chat room!" he explained, causing Jisu's and Jayhun's faces to turn from surprise to confusion.</p><p>"A chatroom?" Jayhun questioned, looking unsure as Dae-shim quickly nodded.</p><p>"It's a long story, Jayhun, but there are people alive in this building. We have to find them."</p><p>Meanwhile, on the eastern side of the building's exterior, the burly monster was lying on the ground, motionless. Suddenly, its body starts to move, its hands pressing against the pavement as it got up.</p><p>"<strong>ST...REN...G...TH...</strong>"</p><p>As it got up, it felt its body sizzling from the impact, but it didn't care.</p><p>"<strong>P...RO...TE...I...N...</strong>" it groaned.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Another Battle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Dae-shim's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>Jayhun and Jisu were shocked at the possibility of there being more survivors in the building.</p><p>As we explained more into detail, they listened carefully, taking in our words as we spoke. Jayhun sighed before looking at Jisu.</p><p>"If there ARE survivors in this building, the farther we go down, the more likely we're going to run into them." He mentioned, causing me to nod at his words.</p><p>"I think the best option, for now, is to wait until we find more people. Someone is bound to know something about outside, that's for sure," I stated, causing Jisu to also nod, but before she could get a word in, Jayhun suddenly came to a halt.</p><p>He stared ahead, causing the rest of us to follow his gaze.</p><p>Blood.</p><p>The stench of iron was strong. I can smell traces of it through my gas mask.</p><p>"Let's just pass it.." Jayhun mumbled, breaking the silence.</p><p>"I can smell the blood from here." She gagged, suddenly turning to face Hyun and me.</p><p>"Hey Hyun, Dae-shim, watch our back in the way down." She commanded, causing Hyun and me to nod as we continued to follow them down the stairs.</p><p>Passing the 10th floor, Hyun moved closer to me and whispered, "Excuse me... Are we really going to pass by the 10th floor? There may be some useful supplies."</p><p>"More useful than our own lives?" Jisu asked rhetorically, causing Hyun's words to fall silent.</p><p>"We shouldn't go in anyway. It's not worth the risk," I said, agreeing with Jisu.</p><p>This caused Hyun to only sigh, before nodding and staying silent.</p><p>Suddenly, Jayhun stopped near the bottom of the stairs in shock.</p><p>Just in front of us was the dead body of a man.</p><p>I slowly crept down, carefully waiting for the sudden beeping to start.</p><p>"The detector isn't reacting. He's not a monster," Jisu pointed out. I was relieved that this man was dead.</p><p>"It doesn't look like he's been dead for long. He's still warm," Jisu said as she approached the man. This made me tense up a bit.</p><p>"Dear Lord..." Jayhun trailed out of worry.</p><p>Jisu rummaged through the man's clothes and found two items.</p><p>"Nice, I found a charging cable. Hey, a chocolate bar. Sweet," she said before taking out a wallet. "Hm? What about this...?"</p><p>I frowned at this, "Jisu, you shouldn't be taking that. It's stealing."</p><p>"Don't worry, I'll leave the wallet with him," Jisu promised.</p><p>"No... that's not what he meant..." Hyun tried to decline before Jisu tossed the charging cable at me and the chocolate bar at Hyun.</p><p>"If you guys don't want it, give it back to him," She stated plainly. Hyun and I looked at each other, uncertainty on our faces before letting out defeated sighs since we had no other options and placing the items in our pockets.</p><p>It felt... wrong. This man was alive not that long ago and we're suddenly looting off his body to survive.</p><p>"Now you're just as guilty as us." Said Jisu, standing up as she looked at us.</p><p>"That was kinda mean," Hyun mumbled, causing Jisu to roll her eyes a bit.</p><p>"If being mean is what it takes to survive, I can be a lot meaner." She admitted, before suddenly tensing as she quickly looked at the opened the door.</p><p>I was about to ask what was the problem before I suddenly felt my heart skipping a beat, maybe two or three.</p><p>
  <strong>BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!</strong>
</p><p>My phone beeped rapidly, warning me of a monster's presence close by.</p><p>"Something's coming. We better hide now," I ushered everyone out the open door and hid out in the corridor.</p><p>We stood there, frozen as we began to hear the sounds of multiple tentacles brushing against the floor.</p><p>"<strong>HE...LP...ME...</strong>" a loud, raspy voice echoed throughout the stairwell, causing me to keep myself quiet.</p><p>I looked at Hyun, who looked at me in return. The same fear in our eyes as we listened to the monster suddenly grab the dead body.</p><p>"<strong>I...WA...NT..TO...L...I...VE...</strong>" the monster moaned loudly, the sounds of flesh tearing suddenly filling my ears.</p><p>Soon, a sickening <em><strong>splat</strong></em> was heard as blood flew everywhere, I began to shake as I watched the blood pool towards the door.</p><p>I began to tremble with fright at the sight of the man's disembodied hand peeking out from the door, though, Hyun, Jisu, and Jayhun were more frightened than me.</p><p>I noticed the wallet in front of me. It was open to reveal a picture of the man, his wife, and their daughter.</p><p>Suddenly, Hyun hunched over a bit, holding both hands over his stomach and mouth as he began to gag audibly, causing Jisu, Jayhun, and I to look at him in fear of the monster hearing him.</p><p>Hyun suddenly forced himself to swallow back the vomit, causing me to internally cringe as I watched him.</p><p>"AHHH... AHHHH!" he retched and panted loudly.</p><p>Just as I was about to check on him... I <strong>froze </strong>with <strong>fright</strong>.</p><p>One tentacle made its way through the doorway, followed by another and then the rest.</p><p>Appearing out of the doorway, was a corpse that was being held upside down by the tentacles. It's mouth and eyes wide open in an agonizing grimace, almost as if the monster's expression was frozen mid-scream when it was human.</p><p>It's big, wide bloodshot eyes were looking right at us.</p><p><em>'Oh, crap...!'</em> I mentally gasped.</p><p>"<strong>HE...LP...ME...</strong>" it moaned again.</p><p>"Hell no!" she yelled as she made the first strike, hitting the tentacle monster on the head.</p><p>"<strong>GA...G...HHH...</strong>" it roared in pain as it fired a tentacle before Jisu blocked it with her bat. The tentacle wrapped itself around the bat and tried to pull it back but Jayhun slashed the tentacle into two.</p><p>This caused the monster to abruptly stop, looking at its bleeding tentacle, then slowly back at Jayhun.</p><p>"<strong>I'M...</strong>"</p><p>The rest of us quickly backed away.</p><p>"<strong>I...N...</strong>"</p><p>I readied my whip to fight it.</p><p>"<strong>D...AN...GE...R...!</strong>"</p><p>The moment I was gonna make my move, a tentacle pushed me back.</p><p>"Shit, run!" Jayhun exclaimed as he and Jisu ran off. Hyun tried to attack it but a tentacle slapped his spear away. The monster began chasing Jayhun and Jisu.</p><p>"Dae-shim, are you alright?" Hyun yelled my name, causing me to quickly get up and help him up.</p><p>"I'm fine. Now, come on! We have to help Jayhun and Jisu!" I urged, causing him to quickly nod as we began the chase.</p><p>Skidding around the corner, I felt my blood ran cold in my blood vessels as I saw the gruesome sight before me.</p><p>Jisu dangled above the monster by the ankle as it held her up, paralyzing fear on her face as she stared helplessly.</p><p>The moment we both took our first step forward, Jayhun launched himself forward and used his shield to hit the monster across the face, abruptly dropping Jisu as the monster was stunned.</p><p>Hyun and I quickly looked at each other, knowing our next move as we suddenly sprinted towards the monster. I wrapped my whip around the monster's waist (with the three tails securing its hold) as Hyun stabbed it through the back before we released a powerful electric shock.</p><p>"<strong>KAAAHHHHH!</strong>" the monster screamed in agony.</p><p>"W-We got it..." Hyun said as we watched it light up from the high voltage. The smell of burning flesh making me sick, but I didn't care.</p><p>I further tightened the bindings more, causing its roar to grow louder.</p><p>I quickly turned to Hyun, ready to signal him to stop before my eyes widened in horror.</p><p>It felt as if I was watching in slow motion, but a tentacle flung out from underneath the monster's body and swung at Hyun, as soon as it's tentacle made direct contact with the back of Hyun's skull, I saw the blood burst from his ears, nose, and head all at the same time.</p><p>I wanted to scream, but nothing came out of my mouth but short raspy breathes when suddenly, I was met with a searing pain in my stomach. Slowly looking down, I felt sick as I looked at the sight before me. Blackness dotted my vision as I looked at the tentacle in my stomach, blood seeping through my clothes as I suddenly looked at Jayhun and Jisu, who only looked on in horror.</p><p>Suddenly, my surroundings went black.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Trapped</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Dae-shim's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <em>"Dae-shim..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Dae-shim..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"DAE-SHIM!"</em>
</p><p>I suddenly woke up to the sound of my alarm clock ringing and I turned it off. I looked around my room in my own mansion home, before throwing off the covers and heading to my bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes were all baggy and I didn't know why? Not to mention my head felt fuzzy, why am I feeling like this? Did I watch too much TV last night?</p><p>"Dae-shim, breakfast time," I heard my dad calling me from downstairs.</p><p>"Coming," I called back before heading downstairs to the dining room. As I sat down on my chair our cook served my favorite waffles with strawberry jam. However, I didn't feel like I want to eat it heartily. I only tapped the waffles with my fork and didn't even bother to pierce it.</p><p>"Is something wrong, son?" my dad asked me. "You haven't touched your food."</p><p>"It's nothing, Dad," I replied. "Just had a crazy dream last night."</p><p>"Dream?" my dad repeated.</p><p>"Mm-hmm," I nodded. "It was something incredible but I can't remember what I just saw..."</p><p>"That's what happens with dreams. What kind of dream was it?"</p><p>"I'm not sure what it looks like. I can't even remember the smallest details. Listen, dad. I just need to be alone for a minute, okay?" I requested.</p><p>"Sure, kiddo. I just finished my breakfast. Call me if you need me," my dad replied as he got up and head to his study to do more chemistry work.</p><p>"Okay," I said. Before my dad headed upstairs he turned around and looked at me again.</p><p>"You know Dae-shim, I've been really worried for you. You've been so caught up with making that cure ever since you were 15, you never gave yourself a chance to live a normal life of a teenager, hanging out with friends, playing sports, anything a teenager would like to do. Maybe you should put down the beakers for now and hang loose, for a change," he said.</p><p>"I'll think about it," I mused as my dad headed to his study.</p><p>"Oh, and before I forget, Mr. In-cheol called me this morning. He wants to interview you about the cure you are working on," Dad called out again.</p><p>"Thanks for reminding me," I replied before I started eating my breakfast.</p><p><em>'I still remember about those times I tried to make the cure before I successfully made the final version. I remember the broken glassware, the explosive results, the spills, and especially, I accidentally burned down the lab,'</em> I thought to myself. <em>'Maybe Dad was right. I really should hang loose, even for just a day. And besides, it's never too late to start. There's hope for change. There's a faint light even in the vast darkness...'</em></p><p>Suddenly, I caught something at the corner of my eyes. But when I turned my head to where that 'something' is, it disappeared.</p><p>"Hmmm..." I pondered. "Must be my imagination."</p><p>Suddenly, I had another flash in my head.</p><p>
  <em>"I can't believe these kids still haven't turned into monsters..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"We survived thanks to you."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Is that just a fire extinguisher?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yeah, when the fine powder gets into monsters' eyes, it stuns them..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"There you go again with that otaku crap. First, let's move these guys while the monster is gone."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>DRAG... DRAG... DRAG... FREEZE</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Mr. Mobster. It's coming back!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>TAP... TAP... TAP...</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Crap! Stay there, brat! I'll deal with that thing..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>TWIRL... WHACK...</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Ugh!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"AAAAHHHH! Mr. Wook! Hyuk! Use the thinner!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'm all out of it! I used it on that blind monster before!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"AAAAAHHHHH!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Shit!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"AAGHH, AAAHHH-!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"GAAAGHHH!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"NO!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"*hic*-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Just get back, guys!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Aim for its legs!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"There are too many of them! Which leg?!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Mr. Glasses!?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Get ba-"</em>
</p><p>I suddenly snapped out of my daze. What was that? It felt real at first glance. Shaking it off, I resumed eating my waffles. After I finished my food, my phone beeped for a second. I checked it to see Hyun's message.</p><p><strong>Hey, Dae-shim. R u excited about Maria from the Sky this 4:00 </strong>😃😃😃<strong>?</strong><strong><br/>When r u free today?</strong></p><p>I typed in my message.</p><p>
  <strong>After my interview, w/c will b starting at 2.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Don't worry, it'll b quick...</strong>
</p><p>Just then, I realized something. Since when did I have Dae-shim's contact number? And since when did he text with smiling emojis?</p><p>In downtown Seoul, I met Mr. In-cheol at a café. He started asking me questions about me and the cure I made for monsterization. And every answer I told him was written in his notepad.</p><p><strong>In-cheol:</strong> Okay, Dae-shim, tell me. When did you start making this cure?</p><p><strong>Dae-shim:</strong> When I was only 15, I was busy reading some of the books in my father's laboratory when I stumbled on the disease known as 'monsterization'. I was so curious about this and thought to myself, 'What if there is a possible cure for a disease like that?'</p><p><strong>In-cheol:</strong> Were there any errors when you tried to make it?</p><p><strong>Dae-shim:</strong> Yes. I went through many months of trial and error, broken equipment, and fires, but I learned from my mistakes and made the final version of the formula a few weeks ago. It was made from sedatives that are safe for any life form and the DNA of a rehabilitated monster.</p><p><strong>In-cheol:</strong> Okay. And are you planning on getting it approved by the medical authorities and the government?</p><p><strong>Dae-shim:</strong> I'm not sure but I'll get to it in time.</p><p><strong>In-cheol:</strong> Well, that's all that I need. Thank you for answering my questions, Dae-shim. Keep me updated for more in the future. Let's meet again on October 25th for another interview.</p><p><strong>Dae-shim:</strong> Okay, sir.</p><p>And with that, In-cheol shook my hand and left. As I checked my phone, I realized that I still have over an hour left before I will meet Hyun at the Gangnam CGB. So I decided to order myself an iced latte and a blueberry muffin. Suddenly, I heard another set of voices in my head.</p><p>
  <em>"He's dead, look at that wound on his stomach! We should just leave him."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"We're not leaving him to be food for those things!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"He's dead weight. Not only that but if he survives this then he's going to turn into a monster!"</em>
</p><p>All the while, I started clutching my head in pain and paranoia.</p><p>"AAAHHHHH!" I screamed.</p><p>
  <em>"There's no proof that it's a virus."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"But they're in the process of turning into monsters! We would have to be crazy to let them in here!"</em>
</p><p>"Ugh! What was that?" I asked myself in a raspy voice. Just then I noticed all the people around me frozen in place. All of them are white.</p><p><em>'This is strange. I was just shouting in the cafe yet no one here noticed.'</em> I thought before resuming my snack and heading out to the cinema. At the entrance was Hyun.</p><p>"Hyun!" I called out to him.</p><p>"Dae-shim!" He called back and ran over to me with a smile. "Come on, let's head inside."</p><p>As we bought the tickets and head to the cinema, I noticed Hyun's wrist. It was completely healed. There were no self-harm scars to be seen, almost as if it never happened in the first place.</p><p>
  <em>"IT COULD ALWAYS BE LIKE THIS..."</em>
</p><p>I looked around for that sudden voice, feeling confused before a piercing pain shot through my body, causing me to flinch and visibly wince.</p><p>Hyun quickly sat up, making him look at me as he looked at me in worry.</p><p>"Dae-shim? What's wrong? Are you okay?" He asked, causing me to nod.</p><p>"Y-Yeah...I'm fine.." I mumbled, excusing myself as I quickly made my way to the restroom.</p><p>Once I closed the door, I began to look at my trembling hands. What is happening here? Is this all just an illusion? I then washed my face by the sink and dried it with a paper towel.</p><p>The door suddenly opened, revealing Hyun. I quickly stepped away from him, causing a questioning expression to appear on his face.</p><p>"Dae-shim, why are you looking at me like that?" He asked, taking another step closer as I took another step back.</p><p>"I remember now, you're not Hyun. Who are you?!" I asked aggressively, backing away as far as possible.</p><p>"Hyun" only looked at me, not saying a word as he stayed in place. Suddenly, he smiled, and another version of me was soon replaced. Only, he looked duller than me. My eyes which would normally hold a human light was cold, my normally bright and fair skin was now pale and cold, almost as if it's dead.</p><p>"The real Hyun would never smile like that" I began. "This is just something you made up to create some sort of comfort for me. Not only that, but Hyun doesn't have clean wrists and I don't have his number in my contact list. Who are you?!"</p><p>The doppelgänger hummed, a slight look of surprise on her face.</p><p><em>"You're smarter than I thought, but you're still a fool,"</em> he began <em>"You were supposed to start a new life in this place that I control. A much happier life than in reality."</em></p><p>"And I'll become a monster once my desires I revealed?" I asked him.</p><p><em>"Correct,"</em> my dopplegänger replied.</p><p>"Well, this isn't what I want," I rebuked, causing the doppelgänger to tilt his head in confusion.</p><p>
  <em>"Do you not want this life, huh? In the real world. You brought upon yourself the responsibility to save the monsters and you're afraid of your inability to save them. Also, you thought that even though you want to protect the people you love, you are afraid that efforts will be in vain."</em>
</p><p>An image of my all my acquaintances, friends, and family flashed before my eyes, my heart aching at the thought of seeing them finally being able to relax at home instead of worrying about the lurking darkness.</p><p>Alas, this wasn't real, the real world is in chaos, with monsters lurking around every corner.</p><p>But, I know I just can't live an ideal life like this. I need to keep on going.</p><p>"I need to keep fighting, for Dad, Hyun, Jisu, Jayhun, everyone. I'm not letting this illusion for as long as I live!" I brandished my whip to fight my doppelgänger, but then the restroom and cinema disappeared and this time, I was outside, beside the Han River. It was also noontime.</p><p>"What the... I'm outside now?" I was confused by the sudden change of setting.</p><p><em>"I thought you might like to talk to another you,"</em> my doppelgänger told me.</p><p>"Stop this madness right now, you monster," I yelled at him.</p><p><em>"Monster...?"</em> my doppelgänger was surprised by my words. <em>"To us, that's what you people are."</em></p><p>I didn't say anything my doppelgänger looked at the river as it was all black with trash going along with the current.</p><p><em>"The water is filthy,"</em> he said.</p><p>"That's the Han river," I pointed out.</p><p>
  <em>"If you want, I could make this river clean."</em>
</p><p>"That still wouldn't make it real."</p><p>
  <em>"That's true. But is that so important? Didn't you spend your teenage life doing all that work just to find some cure for a physio-psychological disease instead of just hanging out with your peers? You may have lived in the real world but you turned your back on it. And now you're complaining about this not being real? That's rich."</em>
</p><p>After a brief tension, I readied my whip at him.</p><p><em>"You asked me what I am right?"</em> my doppelgänger said.</p><p>"Hmm..." I trailed.</p><p><em>"To be honest, I don't know either,"</em> he admitted.</p><p>"What?" I was surprised by this.</p><p><em>"I don't know what I am,"</em>he continued. <em>"But I'm sure of one thing. I may not know how all of this will end but I know that at least it will be better than the world you've lived in. We only have one desire, but not you people. We're honest about our desire, but not you. You're just a bunch of fucking hypocrites."</em></p><p>"That's enough," I interrupted as I wasn't having it.</p><p>
  <em>"Think it over, Dae-shim. You still have a lot of time. Time here flows differently from the outside. Do you want to worry about saving all the monsters, especially those who used to be thieves, rapists, homeless, and addicted? Or do you want to be honest about your desires and..."</em>
</p><p>"I don't need time to think," I yelled as I readied my whip. "All I need is to get out of this place."</p><p>As I wrapped my whip and electrocute my doppelgänger, everything around starts to break.</p><p>
  <em>"Hmm... fine. Good luck surviving..."</em>
</p><p>And with that, everything went white.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Meeting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>3rd Person POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>Hyun and Dae-shim awoke with a jolt. Remnants of their dreams instantly flooding back to them, as well as a throbbing headache in Hyun's skull and the searing pain in Dae-shim's abdomen. The boys groaned in pain as their eyes scanned the unfamiliar room, suddenly jumping from surprise as his eyes land on two people staring at him.</p><p>"Hey," A spectacled boy greeted, giving him a small smile.</p><p>The red-haired girl next to him, who looked a lot younger than the boy next to her, however, stared at him wearily, her eyes never leaving his form.</p><p>"Hyuk... Eun... what happened?" Dae-shim asked as he and Hyun got up.</p><p>"We found you two unconscious and we brought you here. You two look a bit better." Hyuk commented, watching Hyun carefully sit up on the bed.</p><p>"So, you are 18?" Hyuk asked Hyun as Hyun stayed silent.</p><p>"He is," Dae-shim replied.</p><p>"Hmm... I guess we're around the same age then," Hyuk replied.</p><p>"Yeah," Hyun nodded solemnly.</p><p>"I heard. You're turning into monsters, huh?" Hyuk asked.</p><p>"Well, Hyun is. I haven't shown any signs of becoming one, at least not yet," Dae-shim replied.</p><p>"Figures," Hyuk said as Eun pulled out her aerosol can and lighter. "Relax, Eun."</p><p>Eun then lowered her weapons and sighed that the two boys they rescued and not threats.</p><p>"I hear the gist of what happened to Jisu. How did you know we were gathered on the first floor?"</p><p>"We... don't know. We just... had a hunch..." Hyun replied.</p><p>"Really? You two have got some good instincts."</p><p>"Thanks," Dae-shim smiled.</p><p>"Want to have a look around?" Hyuk asked the two, who only stayed silent.</p><p>He opened the door and Hyun and Dae-shim noticed two men in front of the blocked-up entrance.</p><p>"The monsters first came in through the front door. So we blocked the front door and windows," Hyuk explained. "It was tough to stop the monsters from coming in through the other entrances and windows. We lost a few people in the process. Thankfully, the security guard blocked off all the entrances so he saved us some trouble. Although, he still missing."</p><p>"Now that you mention it, Hyuk, I haven't seen Mr. Kim since the first monster attack," Dae-shim pointed out.</p><p>"Some people aren't exactly happy that we brought you two in here. You understand right," Hyuk said.</p><p>"Yeah," Hyun and Dae-shim nodded, and soon enough, two men appeared. Their names are Seok Kim (one with a bald head and a green tracksuit) and Jay Ryu (tall with neatly combed dark blue hair and a black shirt).</p><p>"Are you out of your mind? Bringing two goddamn monsters in here," the balding man said. "Since when do you get to decide this kind of thing yourself, kid?"</p><p>"Well, I'm the strategist here at Green Home," Hyuk answered.</p><p>"You're fucking nuts."</p><p>Seok then turned to Hyun and Dae-shim and pointed a bottle at them.</p><p>"I don't intend to miss that golden chance. Go ahead and mutate. I dare you both," he demanded.</p><p>"Y-You got me all wrong, sir. I'm not even infected," Dae-shim defended himself.</p><p>"Hmm... alright, I believe you," Seok replied before turning to Hyun. "And you. You're supposed to answer when adults talk to you."</p><p>"Oh, right..." Hyun replied as Seok hacked and spits on the floor.</p><p>"See you at the meeting tonight, you little shits!" Seok said as he headed back with Jay.</p><p>"That was scary," Dae-shim muttered.</p><p>"Ignore him. He's just an old grump," Hyuk said.</p><p>"He's not exactly wrong, you know," Hyun said as he weakly smiled.</p><p>"I'm surprised to hear you say that. Then would you two like to go outside now?"</p><p>Dae-shim and Hyun looked at each other in confusion.</p><p>"To be honest, I'm not sure what to do with you either. But you two are not monsters yet so we can't just kick you out of here."</p><p>"How ethical of you," Hyun deadpanned.</p><p>"Is that a problem?" Hyuk asked.</p><p>"Uh... no," Dae-shim replied before asking. "So, how many people live here?"</p><p>"Sixteen, including you two. There are some minor disagreements but overall, we're working together pretty well," Hyuk answered.</p><p>"Do you have enough food?" Hyun asked.</p><p>"Yeah. For now. There's a convenience store in the building so we won't have any major problems for a little while, although it won't last forever."</p><p>Hyun frowned while Dae-shim smiled, albeit weakly.</p><p>"People can smile when things aren't too bad. But when the worst comes, they become just like monsters," Hyuk explained.</p><p>Dae-shim and Hyun looked at each other again. Neither said a word.</p><p>"Hey... Aren't you thirsty?" Hyuk asked. Dae-shim and Hyun silently nodded.</p><p>And so, the three boys head to the convenience store (Z💬U) to buy drinks for Hyun and Dae-shim. Once they approached the cashier, he seemed to be frazzled.</p><p>"He doesn't look good," Dae-shim whispered.</p><p>"Is this guy 'hostile' too?" Hyun asked Hyuk.</p><p>"Honestly, everybody is 'hostile' except me," Hyuk replied.</p><p>"I can hear you, you know. I'm surprised none of you are monsters yet," the cashier interrupted. "What do you want?!"</p><p>Hyuk pointed to Dae-shim and Hyun and said, "These two look a bit dehydrated so could you be nice and give them drinks?"</p><p>The cashier tossed two cans of tonic water at Hyun and Dae-shim.</p><p>"This guy is in charge of the convenience store here in the building because he's the best fighter. Food is the most important thing, after all. No one can steal anything as long as he's guarding it," Hyuk explained.</p><p>"Quit chatting and get out of here," the cashier demanded before pointing at Hyun. "I only agreed to this for now since you asked me as a favor. But we're going to decide what to do with this kid once and for all at tonight's meeting."</p><p>"Sure, thanks," Hyuk replied as he, Hyun, and Dae-shim head to the door.</p><p>"Someone died," the cashier muttered, loud enough for the three boys to turn around.</p><p>"Hey, come one!" Hyuk beckoned Hyun and Dae-shim as both were shocked beyond belief.</p><p>"Someone died trying to save you," the cashier said out loud. "I think it was a pointless sacrifice.</p><p>That was when Dae-shim remembered, he remembered that while he was dreaming, there was a headless body caught in the tentacle monster's clutches.</p><hr/><p>Later that night, all the residents of the building gathered for a meeting. They immediately invited Dae-shim in since they know that he wasn't infected. Hyun, on the other hand, had to stay outside since most of them cannot trust him due to him showing the early signs of monsterization.</p><p>"What?!" Dae-shim was surprised by what Seok said about kicking Hyun out and leaving him for dead.</p><p>"You heard me," Seok continued. "We can't let that little monster you brought here stay with us. We have to get rid of him."</p><p>"Oh, Lord," Jayhun gasped. "You mean... you want to kick him out?"</p><p>"Shut your mouth, Mr. Goody Two-Shoes Bible Thumper! This is for everyone's safety!"</p><p>"You can't do that! Hyun may be a valuable addition to us! You never know," Dae-shim rebuked.</p><p>"Well, if you care about that kid, why don't we kick you out, as well?"</p><p>"Hey!"</p><p>Jisu gritted her teeth.</p><p>"Jisu, are you siding with him?" Jayhun worriedly asked.</p><p>"Damnit," Jisu muttered angrily as Hyuk placed a box, a pad of post-it notes, and a marker on the desk.</p><p>"What's this?" Seok asked.</p><p>"Everyone, take a slip of paper. If you think we should kick Hyun Cha and Dae-shim out of here, draw a circle. If you disagree, draw an 'X' and stick the papers in this box," Hyuk instructed.</p><p>"Why bother?" Seok wasn't having it. "Obviously, he's going to get kicked out. Let's just have a show on hands!"</p><p>"People need their privacy," Hyuk interrupted.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"Since what we're doing is basically murder. In fact, this is more like conspiracy to murder."</p><p>There was a brief silence in the room before Seok broke it.</p><p>"Screw your privacy! I'm all for it!" Seok said as he raised his hand.</p><p>"You call this murder?! What do we have to feel sorry for? This is for our survival!"</p><p>Everyone turned around to see Seon Ahn, Seok Kim's wife, nearby, as she was the one who said it.</p><p>"Damnit, woman! Hurry up and raise your hand!" Seok called to Seon.</p><p>"What?" Seon hesitated. "Oh..."</p><p>"Just do it already, you idiot!"</p><p>"But... he has a point," another woman named Hyein Son spoke up.</p><p>"What?" Seok asked.</p><p>"Wouldn't it be better not to know who voted for it?" Hyein continued. "Besides, voting is completely normal in democratic countries."</p><p>"Democracy? Enough with your democracy! The world is in ruins!" Seok exclaimed.</p><p>"And could you stop yelling at your wife as if she were an animal? It's making me really uncomfortable," Hyein rebuked calmly as Seon was about to cry.</p><p>"You little... That's none of your business!" Seok angrily yelled as he raised his fist as if he was gonna punch her.</p><p>"Would you stop it?" Dusik interrupted, causing Seok to lower his fist.</p><p>"Mr. Kim has made his opinion clear so I'd like to say something before we start voting, too," Hyuk remarked as Seon eyed him suspiciously. "Follow your own principles."</p><p>And so, everyone picked a piece of paper and wrote their vote, either a circle or an 'X'. After a while, there are 6 votes against kicking Hyun and Dae-shim out and 7 votes agreeing to kick the two boys out.</p><p>"If even one of the two remaining votes is in favor, that would decide it," Hyun said.</p><p>"Hmph," Seok scoffed. "I can't believe six people are against it. Are you all out of your minds?!"</p><p>Hyuk took another paper and it had an 'X', thus making the votes against kicking Hyun and Dae-shim out 7.</p><p>"That makes 7:7," Hyuk said as he drew another line in the tally.</p><p>"Ugh..." Seok grumbled before pointing an accusatory finger at his wife. "You didn't vote against it, did you?"</p><p>"N-No..." Seon defended as Seok pointed at Jayhun and Jisu.</p><p>"We should have never let those two hold a vote, to begin with! They were with that monster and his associate, remember?!" he exclaimed.</p><p>"Hey, man!" Jisu yelled back.</p><p>"Easy there... Just relax until we know the result. Now, this last vote is especially important." Hyuk reassured her as he took the last paper from the box. "Let's see... The last vote is..."</p><p>What was written on the paper is neither a circle nor an 'X'. It was a triangle.</p><p>"Invalid," Hyuk finished as everyone was silenced by the unexpected outcome.</p><p>"This is bullshit!" Seok grumbled before turning to Jay. "Jay! Bring that little shit over here right now!"</p><p>"What?" Jay flinched in surprise. "R-Right now?!"</p><p>"Yeah! We have to get rid of him and Dae-shim as soon as possible! Screw this voting crap! None of that matters now!" Seok angrily threw the box of papers aside.</p><p>"Are you objecting to the result of the vote?!" Hyuk asked.</p><p>"Obviously?!" Seok began ranting. "Are you all insane? Did you let this little punk trick you into suddenly feeling guilty?! That whole thing about murder was bullshit! What do you think murder means?! It's only murder if we're dealing with a person! Not a monster! Don't you realize how serious this is? How can you all be so careless after so many people have died? Huh?! Who knows when that bastard might turn into one of them?! We should get those two boys out of-"</p><p>"Um... sir," Dae-shim interrupted. "Your nose."</p><p>That's when Seok noticed something wrong with him. He covered his nose, with the blood smearing his palm.</p><p>"Hon... honey?" Seon gasped at what was happening to her husband as she and everyone took a few steps back. Dae-shim, on the other hand, opened his shoulder bag to get the monsterization cure.</p><p>"Da...damnit... No..." Seok trembled in fear before attempting to reassure everyone. "This is just because I'm tired... I'm just tired! I mean... I... I was upset!"</p><p>"S-Stay away from us!" Hyein exclaimed in defense.</p><p>"Damnit... This can't be..." Seok mused fearfully. "Why now?! ...Why?!"</p><p>"Brace yourself," Hyun said as he stood by the entrance.</p><p>"What...?"</p><p>"Unless you want the monsters to devour you."</p><p>"Hyun..." Dae-shim breathed.</p><p>"Do Dae-shim and I get to vote too?" Hyun asked as he gave a piece of paper to Dae-shim. The two boys wrote circles on their papers. As they were about to place their votes in the box, they stopped.</p><p>"Hold on," Dae-shim said. "If Hyun and I put these in here..."</p><p>"Then that means this guy will have to leave with us, too," Hyun continued. "Right?"</p><p>"Mr. Seok Kim, you're coming with us," Dae-shim said as he and Hyun ushered him out of the room.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. ...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Hyun's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>And so, Dae-shim and I brought the now-unconscious bald man inside a vacant room, where we are locked in. We placed on the bed before we sat beside him just to keep a close eye on him. Dae-shim even places gauze on his nostrils to prevent the blood from seeping. I sat down by the wall beside his bed while Dae-shim sat by the wall in front of his bed.</p><p>After lounging around for a while, we then noticed the bald man waking up.</p><p>"Good, you're awake," I remarked.</p><p>"Did I pass out?" the bald man asked.</p><p>"Yeah. That's a typical early symptom of monsterization," Dae-shim replied as he nodded.</p><p>This made the bald guy worried as he mused, "I can't believe this... Why now...? Why...? Listen... Hyun. Not everyone turns into a monster just because they show these symptoms, right? You still seem to be hanging in there okay. Could you tell me your secret?"</p><p><em>'You've got some nerve, old man,'</em> I thought as I glared at him.</p><p>"Sorry about before... now I realize, it's ridiculous to send someone out into a monster-infested world just because they have a nosebleed," the bald guy continued while shaking. "I was wrong! But what the hell is that woman doing while her husband is lying here?!"</p><p>"Brace yourself," I said.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"You heard him," Dae-shim said as he removed his goggles and gas mask. "You have to brace yourself, Mr. Kim."</p><p>"I've got... nothing more to say to you two," the old man said to us as we try to entertain ourselves to pass the time.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>3rd Person POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>"Okay, there," Wook said as they placed the last heavy object at the entrance. "We can have a bit of light now that we blocked the entrance with curtains. Well done, everyone."</p><p>"But that will really be enough?" a man asked me.</p><p>"Yeah? How long will a shutter and a few pieces of furniture last?" Hyein agreed. "We should black it something sturdy like metal plates."</p><p>"Metal plates? Have you seen any around?" Wook rhetorically asked.</p><p>"We could rip off and use doors from the boiler room in the underground parking lot or empty apartments. They're around the right size," the man requested.</p><p>"Hm... I guess that would work, but no one here knows how to weld. And we don't have any welding equipment either."</p><p>Just then, Hyuk notices the shield, bat, spear, and whip nearby.</p><p>"Jisu," he said to her.</p><p>"Yeah?" Jisu replied.</p><p>"Who did you say made this?"</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Hyun's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>A while later, we heard the door open as Hyuk entered the room.</p><p>"You little shit! How long are you going to keep us locked up in here!?" Seok demanded as he got up.</p><p>"Hyun, Dae-shim, I came to talk to you two about something," Hyuk said to us as he led to us to the stairwell, which is all blocked.</p><p>"The entrance to the stairs on the first floor is a very important barricade," Hyuk explained. "As you can see, it's just a makeshift barricade made from some locks and furniture. Plus, the front entrance is only blocked with a shutter and some furniture."</p><p>"I'm guessing it won't hold for long," Dae-shim said.</p><p>"Yes," Hyuk replied. "The monsters could break in here at any moment. Besides, why do you think I took your side."</p><p>Dae-shim and I didn't say anything for a while.</p><p>"I'm sure you must have already heard from Mr. Pyeon but one of our guys died while trying to rescue you."</p><p>"What do you mean?" Dae-shim asked.</p><p>"He was a good man..." Hyuk lamented.</p><p>That's when I remembered. While Dae-shim and I are still unconscious from our attack from the tentacle monster, I saw some flashes of a man being strangled and decapitated by it. It was real and the two of us couldn't say any comment on that.</p><p>"I'll just come right out and say it," Hyuk continued. "From now on, you're going to be our tankers. As of this moment, you'll be in charge of handling anything dangerous. If you refuse, then I can't help you anymore."</p><p>"...W-What...?!" Dae-shim and I gasped.</p><p>"Can you bring that engineer from apartment 1408 here?"</p><p>"You mean Mr. Dusik Hahn?" Dae-shim said as Hyuk nodded.</p><p>"By... ourselves?" I stammered before Wook walked over us and gave our gear back.</p><p>"I'm going, too," he said before looming over us and showed a line drawn on his arm. "But remember, if either of you turns into a monster, I'll have to add another line to my arm.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Dusik's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>I was sleeping peacefully when someone woke me up. I got up to see Sook sitting beside me.</p><p>"Hm? What is it?" I asked her. "What's wrong?"</p><p>"That lady... she...!" Sook hesitated. "She went into the bathroom and hasn't come out yet."</p><p>I looked to the closed bathroom door and sighed, "Maybe she's just constipated or something... So? How long has she been in there?"</p><p>"Two hours," Sook replied.</p><p>I couldn't believe it. Myeong-ja was in the bathroom for this long?</p><p>"Mister..." Sook trailed as Yeong woke up.</p><p>"Quiet. You guys stay back," I said as I grabbed my gun and went to the bathroom door. I even remembered our previous conversation a while ago.</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Flashback Start</strong>
  </span>
</p><p><em>"Remember what Hyun said before?"</em> Myeong-ja said as I turned to her. <em>"The same goes for me. If I turn into a monster..."</em></p><p><em>"Hey, let's not be too pessimistic,"</em> I interrupted.</p><p>
  <em>"But it's definitely going to happen."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Maybe. But you'll be okay."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What?"</em>
</p><p><em>"I want to believe that. I'm not 100% sure if I could take care of those kids without you,"</em> I said after finishing a drink.</p><p><em>"I see..."</em> Myeong-ja mused.</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Flashback End</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>"Mister..." I heard Sook whispered as I prepared myself to open the door.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Dae-shim's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>As we got ourselves equipped, Wook, Hyun, and I headed upstairs to find Dusik and possible, Myeong-ja, Sook, and Yeong.</p><p>"I hope you both make it safely," Hyuk said.</p><p>"Yeah/Same here," me and Dae-shim replied. We then headed up but Hyuk stopped us.</p><p>"Oh, hold on," Hyuk said before whispering something in our ears. This made our hairs stand up on end in shock.</p><p>"You know what I mean, right," he continued.</p><p>"Who... who the hell are you?!" I demanded as Hyun and I glared at him.</p><p>"Are you coming or what?" Wook yelled as he poked his head from the stairwell.</p><p>"Urgh...!" Hyun grumbled before he and I headed upstairs.</p><p>"What did he say?" Wook asked us as we remained silent. "Are you ignoring me?"</p><p>"Just who the hell... is that guy?" Hyun asked through gritted teeth.</p><p>"Who? Hyuk? He's a high schooler just like you two and he's really a smart kid. Thanks to him, we've managed to make it this far," Wook explained.</p><p>"So, is he like... the leader of this group?" I raised an eyebrow curiously.</p><p>"Well, I guess you could say that. Although a few of the older folks aren't too happy about that since he's so young. He says that the most important thing right now is reinforcing the entrance to the building and finding a study vehicle," Wook replied.</p><p>"A vehicle?" Hyun and I repeated in question.</p><p>"Yeah. I checked the food in the convenience store and we should be good for just another two weeks."</p><p>"Do you think this whole situation will be sorted out in the next two weeks?" I asked.</p><p>"Some nice soldiers will just show up and rescue us? Hm? Ultimately, we'll have to go out and find some food and medical supplies on our own. Once the food runs out in two weeks, this place will become a living hell. Most cars can't withstand attacks from monsters. That's why we need a special car that can hold up against monster attacks. Like an armored military vehicle. Thankfully, it sounds like there's someone with skills in that department. So we'll have to bring back with us before he gets killed by a monster," Wook explained.</p><p>"We have to bring him back, huh...?" Hyun trailed before asking. "How much do you trust him?"</p><p>"It's a bit weird for you to be saying that. if it weren't for him, you two would be monster food right about now. Shouldn't you both trust him more than anyone?"</p><p>"Why do you think he sent us alone?" Hyun asked again.</p><p>"What?" Wook was surprised by that question.</p><p>"Doesn't it seem strange to us?" I added.</p><p>"What the hell are you both saying?" Wook asked again.</p><p>"First, he acts like a hero and makes a rescue team with his own sister on it," Hyun began.</p><p>"And now, when there's a critical mission going on, if Mr. Hahn really is that important to find, shouldn't there be a bigger rescue team?" I continued.</p><p>"He's just scared," Wook answered as we fell into silence again. "He acts all tough on the outside but in the end, he's just a kid like you two. I told you someone on the rescue team died, right? That kid, Hyuk, was so ballsy that he charged at a monster holding nothing but a fire extinguisher. That had worked before... but this time because of that we had our first casualty. And since then, I think he's blaming himself for being overly confident in his plan."</p><p>"So, you're saying... that's why he cut down on the number of people?"</p><p>"It's not exactly a bad thing to have a humane leader, you know."</p><p>"If that's true, then this is even worse than I thought. That guy is way too inconsistent to be a leader."</p><p>"What?"</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Flashback Start</strong>
  </span>
</p><p><em>"The main quest is rescuing Dusik Hahn. The kids are a sub-quest. Focus on the main quest. If the situation gets worse, dump the kids,"</em> Hyuk whispered in our ears.</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Flashback End</strong>
  </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Sook's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>Once Mr. Hahn, opened the door, we were shocked at what we saw. Inside the bathroom was a giant baby-like monster. And what's worse? That baby monster <em><strong>was </strong></em>the lady.</p><p>"<strong>M...A...M...A...</strong>" it cooed as it sucked its thumb.</p><p>Mr. Hahn closed the door out of fear and worry.</p><p>"Mister... the lady... the lady...!" I said through tears.</p><p>"Damnit," Mr. Hahn grumbled as he pounded on the door before getting up and aiming his gun at the baby monster.</p><p>"How could you not fight it off when even that kid Hyun managed to do it!?" he exclaimed.</p><p>"No, mister. Don't do it...!" I tried to reason with him but he wouldn't listen.</p><p>"You-you should have just gone with those people!" Mr. Hahn continued venting.</p><p>"S-She stayed here because of us, remember? Mister..."</p><p>"You said you would try."</p><p>"You're a dummy, mister!" Yeong exclaimed, causing Mr. Hahn to turn to us. "She tried her hardest!"</p><p>"What...?" Mr. Han asked.</p><p>"She's not doing anything to us right now..." Yeong said.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Dae-shim's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>"Never mind. It's nothing..." Hyun said, shaking the thought off before our cellphones started beeping.</p><p>"I got the signal," Wook said. "Are you ready?"</p><p>"Y-Yeah!" we said as brandished our weapons.</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Flashback Start</strong>
  </span>
</p><p><em>"Fire is the answer. The cells in the monster's bodies are made of protein so they have to take damage from fire,"</em> Hyuk explained as poured some thinner on the floor and used my whip Hyun's spear to make a fire out of it. <em>"Your 'pole spear' and your electric whip paralyze monsters, but they can also start a fire if there's thinner or gas around. It's definitely a lot more useful than my fire extinguisher."</em></p><p><em>'Pole spear, huh?'</em> I thought to myself. <em>'It sounds like the name of the spear Ryan uses from Maria from the Sky.'</em></p><p><em>"And I'm really impressed that your whip can split into three tails on the lashing end, Dae-shim,"</em> Hyuk commented on my weapon. <em>"It definitely looks like the tentacle of a Hatterene."</em></p><p><em>'Hatterene? That's my favorite Pokémon,'</em> I thought as I mentally gasped.</p><p><em>"What's with the dorky name and the comparison of Dae-shim's whip with a Hatta-thingy's tentacle? You sound like such a geek,"</em> Wook sighed.</p><p><em>'Okay, I understand that Hyuk knows a thing or two about Pokémon but what about that 'pole spear'?'</em> I thought again before I realized something. <em>'Could it be? Could Hyuk be... CREWCREW?'</em></p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Flashback End</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>"The frequency isn't changing," Wook said as we continued to listen. "It must be standing still."</p><p>"Let's head upstairs," Hyun continued as kept on going upstairs. We then stopped at the fifth floor.</p><p>"The monster is probably here on the fifth floor. The signal is going crazy here."</p><p>"Let's just ignore it and pass by."</p><p>"No. let's get it."</p><p>"Are you serious?"</p><p>"My personal goal is to wipe out all the monsters in this building."</p><p><em>'Wipe out all the monsters. That goes against what I stand for,'</em> I thought as I glared at him.</p><p>"You must have, like, 10 lives."</p><p>"Besides, we haven't explored the fifth floor yet. We missed it because we were busy saving you two. There may be some supplies."</p><p>"More useful than our own lives?" I asked nonchalantly.</p><p>"I'm opening the door. You two go right. I'll go left. Ready?" Wook asked as he opened the door.</p><p>"...Yeah," we said. And once Wook opened the door, we readied ourselves in case a monster appears. Surprisingly, there was nothing on this floor.</p><p>"Whew," Hyun sighed.</p><p>"Go check that hallway," Wook whispered to us as we split up, with me and Hyun heading right. As we peeked in the next hallway, we were surprised at what we saw.</p><p>"Hey. What is it?" Wook asked as he approached us. "What's wrong?"</p><p>"Over there..." "You need to see this, sir," Hyun and I said, pointing to giant fingers jutting out from the other hallway.</p><p>"What the hell is that?" Hyun whispered in a questioning and terrified voice. "Are we really going to this?"</p><p>"Of course, we are," Wook replied.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Sheer Determination</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>3rd Person POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>Back in the closet, Seon gave her husband a bag of chips and a glass of coffee.</p><p>"Is that it?" Seok asked his wife as she nodded. "Fuck. You're already treating me like a monster."</p><p>"..." Seon still said nothing as she scratched her head.</p><p>"Just be honest with me," Seok sighed.</p><p>"What?" Seon asked.</p><p>"You're glad that this happened to me, aren't you? Is that why you're doing this?"</p><p>"What? No, of course not."</p><p>"You're the first person I'll devour if I turn into a monster, got it? So do something, you goddamn pathetic bitch! How can you just bring your own husband a few fucking chips?! Huh?!" Seok ranted as he kicked the cup, causing the coffee to spill on the floor.</p><p>"But that's a day's worth of food," Seon admitted.</p><p>"Go get me something else right now!" Seok demanded impatiently. "Even if you have to steal it!"</p><p>"..."</p><p>"What if you turn into a mon...?!" he stopped when he noticed Seon's hand behind her back. "Hey, what's that in your hand?"</p><p>"..."</p><p>"What have you been hiding behind your back this whole time? Huh?"</p><p>What was behind Seon's back was, in fact, a kitchen knife.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Hyuk's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>I felt Jisu grabbed my collar as she pushed me to a wall in the men's bathroom.</p><p>"You sent the three of them by themselves? Are you insane?!" Jisu angrily asked.</p><p>"You know this is the men's bathroom, right?" I tried to change the subject but I knew Jisu wasn't having it.</p><p>"Who do you think you are? Playing God with people's lives?!"</p><p>"We really need Dusik Hahn. And sending Hyun, who's in the process of turning into a monster, and Dae-shim, who seems unsure if he'll turn into a monster or not, on that dangerous mission was an extremely rational decision. Do you think I put myself in danger for nothing?"</p><p>"Urgh... You little...!"</p><p>"Haven't you ever had to be cruel to stay alive?"</p><p>"But..."</p><p>"I guess you have."</p><p>Jisu continued to glare at me.</p><p>"Will you let me go now?" I insisted. "This is starting to hurt."</p><p>"Wasn't there any other way?" Jisu asked.</p><p>"I'm desperately trying to find a way out of this. I wish you would understand that. At the start of this whole monster incident, people were completely defenseless when they turned into monsters, but it's different now. People have already seen the monsters, and they know whether they turn into a monster depends on their own willpower and desires. That theory is almost certainly correct based on what Hyun and Dae-shim told us."</p><p>"But you sent Hyun and Dae-shim on a dangerous mission."</p><p>"Hyun has been resisting turning into a monster from the very start until now. And Dae-shim appears to have an iron will, which is why he hasn't shown any symptoms of becoming a monster. That confirms my opinion that monsterization has nothing to do with viruses because there's no such thing as a virus that can stop you with willpower."</p><p>"So what?!"</p><p>"So that's what I bet on."</p><p>"You bet? On what?"</p><p>"According to Hyun and Dae-shim, the monsters within them are using more and more devious methods to try and tempt them. Did you hear about the weird dreams they had while they were unconscious?"</p><p>"It was hard to believe... but I heard it."</p><p>"That means there's a possibility that we can do something about monsterization. Although, it won't be easy. But Hyun and Dae-shim are doing a good job of fighting them. When we ran over and first met you guys, Hyun had just taken a really strong hit to the back of the head from that tentacle monster. His skull was crushed, and he had blood pouring out of his eyes, nose, and mouth. That would have killed most people instantly. As for Dae-shim, he was impaled in the stomach by another tentacle and he seems to have bled out more than Hyun did. What caught my eye on Dae-shim the most is that his nose started to bleed out; this confirmed to me that Dae-shim has entered monsterization. However, within just a few hours, they woke up as if nothing happened."</p><p>"'Cause Hyun's still changing and Dae-shim has just entered the early stage of monsterization when I saw his nose bleeding."</p><p>"Yeah, I've been calling it the 'golden time'... Like they said on TV, there is supposedly a certain golden timeframe that's most effective for killing the monsters. In general, that's true. But Hyun is still holding out in spite of showing early signs of monsterization. Dae-shim, as well. I decided to take advantage of their golden time. If Hyun and Dae-shim are really strong enough to be able to control the monster within him... If they can stand their grounds in a deadly tug-of-war with two monsters... I bet... they could be our greatest weapons."</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Hyun's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>A chill just ran up my spine. I turned to see another arm heading towards our direction.</p><p>"Dae-shim," I whispered to Dae-shim.</p><p>"What?" he asked me as I motioned to the other end of the hallway. It sped towards us and Wook. I tried to block it before it grabbed me by the arm. Suddenly I can feel the bones in my arm breaking.</p><p>"Ugh...!" I grunted in pain.</p><p>"Let him go, you creepy arm!" Dae-shim exclaimed as he tried to pull the creepy arm off with his whip, but it wouldn't budge.</p><p>Upon instinct, I stabbed my spear into that monster's arm in hopes of letting me go. It didn't work so I decided to shock him into submission. However, since it was in contact with me, I felt myself get electrocuted as well. As for Dae-shim, since one of his hands is holding the lash, he got himself shocked, too.</p><p>"Are you trying to get yourselves killed?! Hyun, let go of the spear! Dae-shim, let go of the whip!" Wook demanded us to do so but we wouldn't relent.</p><p>"More... power..." Dae-shim exclaimed through gritted teeth. "Need... to... power up!"</p><p>We added more electricity to stop the monster. We even felt more electricity surging in our bodies but we didn't care. Eventually, the monster arm finally let go of my arm as Dae-shim pulled his whip to untie it from the arm. It then slithered away into the next hallway.</p><p>"Hey, kids, are you okay?" Wook asked us. He tried to help us up but couldn't since we still have electricity inside us.</p><p>"Damnit..." I heard Wook muttered before saying. "You two stay here."</p><p>He then ran off to where that monster arm slithered away.</p><p>After what seemed like forever, we noticed Wook returning to us and about to throw a bottle of thinner at us.</p><p>"Put that away. We're still okay," I said as I sat up.</p><p>"You two sure got better pretty damn quick," Wook remarked.</p><p>"Did you kill it?" Dae-shim asked while getting up.</p><p>Wook showed us another line on his arm, indicating that he killed the monster that tried to kill us recently.</p><p>"So what did the monster look like?" Dae-shim asked again.</p><p>"It was like one of those monkeys with really long arms. But it had the boy of a normal person. I burned it to death," Wook replied. "It's a good thing it wasn't a stronger monster."</p><p>"I wonder what its desire was..." I trailed off.</p><p>Wook hesitated for a while before saying, "Some things are better left unknown."</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Jisu's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>"Hyuk, you must be out of your goddamn mind," I said while glaring at him.</p><p>Hyuk smiled before talking, "You had better get used to taking advantage of people who are turning into monsters."</p><p>"Screw you. I knew something was up from the moment you started acting nice!"</p><p>"Acting nice? Hey, I don't think you realize how dangerous our situation is."</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"What do you think of the voting results?"</p><p>"What are you looking for?"</p><p>"These are voting slops with X's on them. I brought a few extra just in case I needed to swap a few votes."</p><p>I was surprised by this.</p><p>"Wait, you mean you rigged the vote?!"</p><p>"I was going to. After counting votes, if the result wasn't what I wanted, I was going to switch a few of the votes. But I didn't even need to do that."</p><p>"So you didn't rig it?"</p><p>"Correct, although I was quite surprised by the outcome. I can't believe more people didn't vote to kick Hyun and Dae-shim out."</p><p>"That's because you called it murder, and made everyone feel guilty."</p><p>Hyuk giggled before saying, "Jisu, do you really think people didn't kick Hyun out of here because of a guilty conscience? Well, all right. In the case of you and the guy with the glasses, you guys were with them for a while so may be you like took a liking to them. But what about the others?"</p><p>I had no comment on this one.</p><p>Hyuk continued, "Do you think it's easy to just let two complete strangers in here? People's lives are at stake."</p><p>"What are you trying to say?!" I asked.</p><p>"You still don't get it, do you?" Hyuk smiled again, but this time, suspiciously. "Hyun Cha, Seok Kim, and Dae-shim Chu... Are they the only three turning into monsters?"</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Seon's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>"What are you hiding behind your back?! Tell me, you stupid bitch!" my husband demanded me to show the kitchen I was hiding.</p><p>"You really don't care about me at all," I stood my ground.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"You're not the only one turning into a monster."</p><p>Seok's face then turned from angry to frightened.</p><p>"When I become a monster, I'll have to kill you," I continued as I remember all the abuse I had to endure all those years. "The more I think about it, the more unfair it seems. I don't want to turn you into a monster and kill you. That's not what I want."</p><p>I took out the kitchen I was holding. I felt some blood dripping from my nose but I didn't care.</p><p>"Jesus fucking Christ... What the hell do you think you're doing? Put that goddamn thing away right now! Do you think a stupid bitch like you could kill me? You can't kill me," Seok exclaimed.</p><p>I trembled as I couldn't bear the pain any longer.</p><p>"You've always looked down on me, telling me I can't do anything on my own. I can do this!"</p><p>"AAAAHHHH!" my husband screamed as he knew I was gonna stab him. "You crazy bitch! Are you trying to kill me? Stop it! Just stop!"</p><p>
  <em>"Kill him."</em>
</p><p>I heard that voice in my head.</p><p>
  <em>"He ruined your life, Seon Ahn. He always got drunk and beat you. He didn't even consider you a human being. he completely destroyed your self-esteem. He made you feel like a useless idiot. And yet, you forgive him for all that? Are you serious? Do it, kill him right now. I'll help you."</em>
</p><p>"Shut up..." I yelled at my inner voice. "I don't need your fucking help."</p><p>I began to stab my own husband.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Dae-shim's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>"Are you getting the signal?" Hyun asked Wook as we are now on the 7th floor.</p><p>"Very faintly... it must have moved away. Although I'm not even sure what 'it' is," Wook replied.</p><p>"The last time Dae-shim and I saw the tentacle monster was on the ninth floor. Maybe it's that one."</p><p>"Who knows, there's definitely going to be other monsters around here, too. Either way, whatever it was, it's gone now. So let's check out the seventh floor," Wook said as we entered the 7th-floor hallway. "You two take that side See if there are any survivors, and if any of the apartments are open, check them for supplies."</p><p>Hyun and I went to the hallway right of the emergency exit. We noticed an open door at the left end of the hallway. We went inside and noticed that the room was empty but everything inside was untouched.</p><p>"Hmm... you know what this means, right?" I said as I turned to Hyun.</p><p>"Yeah," Hyun nodded. "When a door is open, it means either a monster broke in or someone turned into a monster and left. But the place seems too clean for..."</p><p>We suddenly smelled a putrid scent. I put my gas mask on to alleviate the smell.</p><p>"Ugh!" Hyun said as he covered his nose. "What's this smell?"</p><p>"This room is clean and all but who is making this terrible odor?" I wondered before Hyun and I noticed a laptop and a plaque that said '72nd National Track-and-Field Tournament 1st Place in the 400-meter Race' on the desk. We even turned to the shelf beside the bed. On the top are three more award plaques.</p><p>"I haven't seen a laptop in a while..." Hyun said as he turned on the laptop. On the screen, we noticed a file named ' '. Hyun clicked it and we read the file. It went:</p><p>
  <strong>The smell is awful!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>I had just finished what I needed to do and there was this horrible, bloody smell in the air.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>While looking out the window, I made eye contact with a monster standing on the ground.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>When I saw the monster, I realized I couldn't really tell any difference between me and them.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>It stinks! It smells horrible!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>I told that goddamn idiot to be quiet.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Then he went and made all that noise because he was scared.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>How can a grown man be such a fucking baby?!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Shut your mouth! Or the monsters will hear!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>In the end, I did what needed to be done.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Now that I think back on it, that bastard always looked down on me.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>He constantly made fun of me for not racing as well as him.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>All he ever did was complain about not being any food here.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Go back to your own house and stop leeching off me, asshole!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>And do something about this freaking smell!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>I tried wrapping it up but I can't stop the smell!</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>I was right on the verge of going insane from the smell when a voice spoke to me.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>It showed me myself when I was a kid, too. Back when I used to just love running...</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>The voice told me it wasn't my fault...</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>It said it's not my fault that this happened.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>That's when I realized.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>There's nothing wrong with me.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>That asshole who looked down on me was the one with the problem, not me.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>I asked the voice:</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>'I'm already a monster. If I let you in, what will happen to me?'</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>The voice answered:</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>'You just remain yourself.'</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>I liked that answer. I asked the voice who it was.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>With a shy laugh, the voice told me who it was.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>I laughed with it.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>'Maybe you're right!'</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>It's time to tell him the truth about my desires.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>And now, I don't smell anything anymore.</strong>
</p><p>Hyun and I were surprised that whoever wrote this must have become a monster. We then noticed a closed door. I was tempted to open the door and see what's inside but I decided not to as Hyun and I headed outside.</p><p>"He was right..." Hyun muttered as he smiled.</p><p>"Who?" I asked.</p><p>"Hyuk," Hyun replied. "He said that people can smile when things aren't too bad. But when the worst comes, they become just like monsters."</p><p>I had no comment on this.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Tentacles of Terror</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Dae-shim's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>We continued going up the stairs before stopping at the 9th floor.</p><p>"The last time I saw that tentacle prick was in the ninth floor," Wook said.</p><p>"Do you think it's still here?" Hyun asked.</p><p>"I'm not getting any signal," Wook replied.</p><p>"We should head inside now. Time has already been wasted as it is," I suggested.</p><p>"No," Wook refused. "Let's just skip this floor."</p><p>And so, we decided to skip this floor and head to the 10th floor.</p><p>"Last time we just passed by this floor, too," Hyun stated. "I'm kind of curious to see what's in there. How about we go in?"</p><p>"No, let's skip this one, too," Wook replied.</p><p>"Didn't you say you wanted to kill all the monsters?" Hyun asked. Seriously, that k-word makes me gag to the max.</p><p>"That's what I wanted to do. But..."</p><p>"Are you scared?" Hyun and I asked. "Did you run out of room for more lines on your arm?"</p><p>"Don't let the monsters beat you," Wook said.</p><p>"What?" Hyun and I were confused by this.</p><p>"You're giving me the creeps all of a sudden."</p><p>Hyun and I continued to stare at him in silent surprise.</p><p>"The more the monsters help you, the more they seem to affect you. Remember what I said before? If either of you turn into a monster, I'll kill you on the spot. Don't think I won't," Wook stated.</p><p>"Do you think you can really us?" Hyun sneakily asked before Wook grabbed us by our hoodies and glared at us.</p><p>"Snap out of it, you two. I want to kill every single monster in this place, but the more you two fight, the higher the chances of you turning into two of them. That's why I'm avoiding fighting."</p><p>"Are you trying to be a hero?" Hyun asked again as Wook let us go and punched us in the stomachs. Hyun first, me next.</p><p>"Is that what this looks like to you both?" Wook rhetorically asked as we gritted our teeth in pain. "Are you two back to normal now?"</p><p>"Yeah," Hyun said as we panted. "Thank you. We meant it. But man that really hurts."</p><p>"At least it's not so bad that you need the monsters' help."</p><p>"Yeah, that's true," I replied while wiping my forehead.</p><p>"I hope Hyuk was right," Wook sighed.</p><p>"Even if it means Dae-shim and I have to be cannon fodder, we don't want to get kicked out of here," Hyun said.</p><p>"I bet. Everyone wants to live."</p><p>I then noticed Hyun falter upon hearing this.</p><p>"I didn't know... I wanted to live... so badly," he muttered.</p><p>"What the heck are you talking about?" Wook asked in a confused tone. "Are you still over that hit...?"</p><p>"It's okay, Wook. He just had seconds thoughts about something in his life," I reassured him before muttering to myself. "Kinda like my own conflicts on saving all monsters or saving most of them."</p><p>Suddenly, we heard a loud 'beep'.</p><p>"Damnit, there's never a dull moment, huh?" Wook grunted before asking. "I think it's coming from the 11th floor. Do you think it's the see-through monster you told us about? Or the tentacle monster?"</p><p>"We're not entirely sure. Whatever it is, we have to get out of here. We don't want to fight in the stairwell," Hyun replied.</p><p>Left with no other choice, we decided to hide on the 11th floor. Upon arriving there, I nearly retched upon seeing numerous corpses lying on the floor. Many of them still have their limbs and heads intact but some have lost a head or least an arm and a leg.</p><p>As we hid by a corner, we peeked to see the tentacle monster nearby.</p><p>"DIIIEEE!" Wook yelled as he ran over and threw a bottle of thinner at the tentacle monster.</p><p>It broke the bottle with its tentacle but got covered by the thinner all the same.</p><p>"<strong>GAAAGGGHHH...!</strong>" the monster retaliated by throwing the corpse he was holding at Wook.</p><p>"Take that!" Wook yelled out as he pushed the corpse back at the monster.</p><p>"<strong>UGH...AAAHHH!</strong>"</p><p>"NOW!" Wook finally gave the signal as Hyun and I readied our weapons at it.</p><p>"...Nice to see you again!" Hyun cried out as he pierced its chest with his spear while I wrapped my whip around its waist before we gave him a good electric shock.</p><p>"<strong>GAAAAAGGGHHHH...!</strong>" the tentacle monster screamed in agony.</p><p>"You're finished this time!" I exclaimed with determination as we continued to give him more electricity. Before long, its whole body began to burn up. It let out a tentacle and pushed us back.</p><p>"<strong>AM I... DYING...?</strong>" it asked while crying.</p><p>"Hey, kids. Are you okay?" Wook asked before the tentacle monster opened a door behind it.</p><p>"<strong>I...CAN'T DIE NOW...</strong>" it snarled before entering the room.</p><p>"Huh? What's it doing?!" I asked in shock as I, Hyun, and Wook, notice the smoke alerting the overhead sprinklers, spraying water and dousing the flames on the monster's body. The monster's still alive, albeit worse for wear from burning.</p><p>"<strong>I'M... ALIVE... I'M... STRONG... NOW...</strong>" it growled as it stared at us.</p><p>"So, what do we do now...?" Hyun asked.</p><p>"If it were in human form, I'd try to take it on, but..." Wook replied. "This is just..."</p><p>Suddenly, the tentacle monster spat at the wall nearby. The wall partially melted because of the saliva's acidity.</p><p>"Ugh! What the hell was that?!" Hyun grumbled.</p><p>"Looks like acid spit," I pointed out as the monster crept out of the room. It then threw a door at Hyun, who dodged it.</p><p>It even tried to attack him with a tentacle but Hyun dodged that, too.</p><p>"SHUT UP!" Hyun yelled as he aimed his spear at the tentacle and gave it another shock. However, the tentacle monster barely felt any pain.</p><p>It then shoot another tentacle, this time not only aimed at Hyun but also at me.</p><p>"Hyun, Dae-shim, get back!" Wook exclaimed as we dodged the other tentacle. It didn't touch us, but it left wounds on us (one on my right cheek and another on Hyun's forehead).</p><p>"Take this!" Wook then threw another bottle of thinner at the tentacle monster, who was able to catch it. It then spat at him and he dodged the saliva, only getting some drops on his shoulder, burning through his shirt and skin.</p><p>"AAAAAAAARGHHH!" Wook screamed in agony. "Ugh...! D-Damn it..."</p><p>"Wook, are you okay?" I ran up to him.</p><p>"I-I'm fine. Don't worry," Wook reassured me as his cellphone fell out of his pocket and gets destroyed by the monster.</p><p>"<strong>I... MADE IT...</strong>" it growled at us again.</p><p>Suddenly, we caught a glimpse of a blunt arrow as it caught the tentacle monster. We turned around to see an old bald man in a red vest. He lit up a bottle and threw it at the tentacle monster, exploding over it.</p><p>"<strong>GAAAGGGHHH...</strong>" the monster screamed in agony as it felt the embers touching his skin. "<strong>UGGGHHH...</strong>"</p><p>It then opened a nearby elevator door and fell down the shaft.</p><p>"Did you seriously just miss?" a nearby young woman asked the old man. "Are you blind?!"</p><p>"Shut up... I did that on purpose. That thing is a big coward," the old man rebutted. "No need to piss it off further. Just give it a good scare, and it'll run off on its own."</p><p>"Wow, thanks, smart guy," the woman replied sarcastically.</p><p>The old man turned to us and asked, "Tell me, are you three the idiots who enraged that chicken shit and made it evolve?"</p><p>Eventually, they brought me, Hyun, and Wook to their room, where they patched us up. I was the one first and Yuri easily disinfected my cheek wound and covered it with a bandage. She then proceeded to do the same thing to Wook's shoulder wound.</p><p>"Urgh! Hey, take it easy!" Wook recoiled in pain as the woman, Yuri Park, tried to disinfect his wound.</p><p>"Gee, sorry," Yuri replied apologetically. "For such a big, tough guy, you really are a baby."</p><p>She then proceeded to bandage up his wound before turning to Hyun, whose hand is covering his forehead wound.</p><p>"Now... you were hurt before, too, weren't you? Let me take a look..." she said.</p><p>"Th-That's okay... I'm fine," Hyun hesitated.</p><p>"What do you mean? You were bleeding! Move your hand. It'll get infected if we don't treat it."</p><p>"I'll do it. Just give me the bandages."</p><p>"Put your hand down, kid," the old man, Seop Ahn, spoke up. "You little shit. You and your friend are turning into monsters, aren't you?"</p><p>"Huh?" Yuri was surprised at this. Seop aimed his crossbow at us.</p><p>"Get away from them Yuri!"</p><p>"W-Wait... Listen...!" Wook reasoned with Seop, who aimed his crossbow at him.</p><p>"You, take your hand off your forehead right now," Seop demanded before turning to me. "And you, remove that bandage from your face or this big bastard's heart stops beating forever."</p><p>"Th-That's absurd, Mr. Ahn. I-I'm not even infected," I stammered.</p><p>"You still have to take that bandage off and show us if you are infected or not."</p><p>Hyun and I hesitated for a while but we did what he said anyway. Hyun took his had off his forehead while I simultaneously removed my bandage. As I looked at a mirror, I realized that my cheek scar is gone.</p><p><em>'No way. I can't be infected,'</em> I thought worriedly.</p><p>"Get out. Right this minute," Seop demanded again.</p><p>"I-I really appreciate your help, sir..." Wook said.</p><p>"I wouldn't have helped if I knew you had a monster with you, let alone two," Seop interrupted. "Now, get out of here."</p><p>Looks like we have no other choice but to do what Mr. Ahn says.</p><p>"But... the thing is... these kids..." Wook tried to reason again but Hyun stopped him.</p><p>"Let's just go," Hyun replied as we grabbed our bags.</p><p>"We're sorry, sir," we said to Seop before heading outside.</p><p>"Hey, Hyun, Dae-shim," Wook tried to called out to us before we heard someone snickering. We turned around and noticed that it was Seop snickering.</p><p>"You're such a jerk sometimes," Yuri sighed in annoyance.</p><p>Seop stopped snickering, "I was just messing with you. You don't have to go. I was just fooling around."</p><p>I can't help but feel angry at his underhanded quip but I decided to hold it in.</p><p>"Hey, what the hell?!" Wook butted in.</p><p>"You think an old man without much time left would be afraid of a little fun?" Seop quipped.</p><p>"Seriously?!" I glared at him. "You had us worried."</p><p>"Yuri," Seop turned to her.</p><p>"Yeah?" she asked.</p><p>"You stay here."</p><p>Seop then turned to us and said, "You said you're going up to the 14th floor, right? There are little kids up there."</p><p>"Yeah, but why...?" Hyun asked as Seop got up.</p><p>"You need someone who doesn't fear death, don't you?"</p><p>"Sir!" Yuri called back.</p><p>"You've taken good care of this grumpy old man. Go ahead and take a rest for today. I'd like to try my hand at being a hero before I kick the bucket... Is there anything I can do?"</p><p>"You're full of crap," Hyun spoke up. "You don't have much time left? So what? Don't be ridiculous... No one wants to die."</p><p>I felt my eyes widen as I caught up to realize what Hyun just said to Seop.</p><p>"Hey, what's gotten into you?" Wook asked.</p><p>"S...Sorry, sir," Hyun apologized.</p><p>"A word of advice, kid," Seop replied. "Not being afraid of death and wanting to die are completely different things. I plan on sticking around longer than all of you.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>3rd Person POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>As Seon was about to stab her husband, she heard the door open.</p><p>"What's going on here?!" Sangsu called out from outside when he noticed Seon was about to do to Seok.</p><p>"Seon! Put the knife down!" the unnamed man exclaimed.</p><p>"Seon! I know how you feel, but please, drop the knife," Hyein pleaded.</p><p>Seon hesitated at first but decided to.</p><p>"She's a monster!" Seok said as he accusingly pointed at his wife, much to her shock as well as everyone else in the room. "This bitch is a monster, too!"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Out of the Frying Pan</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Hyun's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>And so, I, Dae-shim, Wook, Yuri, and Seop headed out to find Dusik and the kids.</p><p>"Why are you coming with us?" Seop asked his caretaker. "You should just stay home."</p><p>"I don't think staying home by myself is a great idea," Yuri replied. "Plus, none of you have cellphones."</p><p>"Sorry," Wook said. "Mine was smashed by that monster..."</p><p>"Mine got burnt to a crisp..." I said as I took out my phone, which, just like I said, is burnt.</p><p>"Mine's still working fine," Dae-shim said as his phone was still mostly intact.</p><p>"Hey, how'd that happen to your phone, kid?" Seop asked me.</p><p>"Well," I began before looking at Dae-shim, who shook his head 'no'. "It just happened."</p><p>"Hmm..." Seop wondered.</p><p>We continued our way to the stairwell, all the while we listened to Wook and Yuri's conversation.</p><p>"Would you two keep it down?" Seop said to the two of them.</p><p>"Oh, sorry..." Wook apologized as I looked at them. Once I turned to the stairwell, I flinched at the sight of another monster, it's back facing towards us.</p><p>"What is it, Hyun?" Dae-shim questioned in a whispered tone and I pointed to the monster. He flinched in fright and motioned the rest to come over to us and stay silent. We kept on watching the monster as it remained standing on its spot. Dae-shim and I quietly crept towards it. Once we're close enough, we heard it snoring and saw it facing the corner. We motioned that the monster is sleeping and they quietly followed us. Seop was first to follow us, and the monster didn't even move. But when it was Yuri's turn, she didn't even went to the second flight of stairs when the monster woke up. It had three red and bloodshot eyes.</p><p>"Fuck," Yuri whispered and before she and the rest of us know, the monster grabbed her by the neck and attempt to strangle her to death.</p><p>"NOOOO!" Seok exclaimed and tried to help her but Dae-shim stopped him.</p><p>"Wait!" Dae-shim said.</p><p>"Let her go!" Wook demanded as the monster positioned Yuri in front of him, as if it was using her as a human shield.</p><p>"Just keep on smiling, you ugly motherfucker!" Wook gritted his teeth and prepared himself to punch the monster. In a split-second, the monster disappeared in front of our eyes. Suddenly, it appeared behind and knocked Wook out with a left hook.</p><p>"<strong>TOO... SLOW...</strong>" it moaned, its whole body red and smoking.</p><p>I motioned Seop to throw the one of the bottles he had and he did. The monster noticed it and stomped it, unknowingly covering its foot with the lighter fluid in the bottle.</p><p>"Go..." I said to Seop.</p><p>"What?!" Seop asked.</p><p>"Keep moving, Mr. Ahn. We'll handle this," Dae-shim reassured him.</p><p>"I... I can't do that," Seop protested. "I have to save Yuri."</p><p>"Save the kids," I muttered. "That means way more than revenge."</p><p>Of course, Seop hesitated but decided to do it anyway.</p><p>"I'll see you on the 14th floor, kids," he said as he continued climbing up the stairs.</p><p>"Be careful," Dae-shim called out.</p><p>As the two of us confront the speed monster, we realized its body has changed color from seething red to normal gray. Just then, it stopped directly in front of us. And the next thing we knew, it kicked us at the chests sending us crashing to the door, ripping it off its hinges along the way.</p><p>"As hit the wall at the hallway, I screamed in pain as I felt blood splashing out of my mouth and nose. But I was able to keep myself standing and helped Dae-shim up. I even noticed blood seeping from his mouth and nose.</p><p>"Ugh... shit..." I groaned as I coughed up some blood.</p><p>"That... was... a dirty trick," Dae-shim panted before wiping some blood off his face.</p><p>As the speed monster approached us, I remembered the empty yet intact room. When I remembered the laptop inside it, that's when I realize something.</p><p>"It's you," I said. "The guy from apartment 705."</p><p>"You mean he's the one who wrote the text that we read in that laptop," Dae-shim asked me and I nodded.</p><p>As we readied ourselves, we patiently waited for our rib bones (which the speed monster broke when it kicked us) to heal. Once our bones were finally healed, we readied our weapons. I stabbed the monster's left foot with my spear while Dae-shim wrapped his whip around his ankle.</p><p>"Close but no cigar," I smugly chided as we gave him a good shock. That's when his foot finally started to burn.</p><p>"<strong>GAAAAGHHH...!</strong>" it screamed in agony.</p><p>"How do you like that, Mr. 705?!" I panted with a smile. "You murdered your own friend, you son of a bitch..."</p><p>However, the speed monster was able to put the fire out by rapidly shaking its foot.</p><p>"What the?!" Dae-shim gasped at what it was doing.</p><p>"<strong>THIS... WILL BE... FUN...</strong>" it glared at us as its body starts to glow to an even more fiery red.</p><p>"Let's go, Hyun!" Dae-shim told me as we hightailed out of there.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Seon's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>I was sitting on the bed when Hyein gave me a can of fruit juice.</p><p>"Here, drink this. Try to calm down," she said.</p><p>I didn't say anything as Hyein sat down.</p><p>"Now, let's hear it," she began. "How on earth did you mess this up?"</p><p>That question made me feel queasy as tears began to form in my eyes.</p><p>"Did you hear me...?" Hyein asked.</p><p>"Ugh... No..." I answered. "I got scared. Right as I was about to kill him, I got really scared... I..."</p><p>I finally let out what I was supposed to say to her, "I hate him so much...! I've wanted to kill that bastard hundreds, if not thousands, of times, and yet..."</p><p>Hyein scoffed, "Ugh, come on. You call that an excuse? You said you'd kill him for sure this time. That's why I gave you my knife. So what's your plan now that they've confiscated my knife?"</p><p>"Sorry..." I sadly muttered.</p><p>"This is the perfect opportunity. You even have a good reason to kill him... So what the hell are you waiting for? Don't you hate that bastard for everything he's done to you? Like that burn on your arm... He did that too, didn't he?"</p><p>I trembled as I had nothing to say.</p><p>"You're not that only one around here who hates that asshole you know? Do you need me to kill him for you?"</p><p>"I'm sorry..."</p><p>"...You don't need to apologize. God, this is so frustrating."</p><p>That's when I heard her whisper, "No wonder you lived like that..."</p><p>"What?!" I asked.</p><p>"Nothing. Forget it. Anyway, what was all that about you being a monster?" Hyein asked again.</p><p>"I-I don't know... He's just talking nonsense. Maybe he just doesn't want to be the only monster around here..."</p><p>"How the hell can he call his own wife a monster? What a fucking lowlife," Hyein commented.</p><p>"Y-Yeah," I agreed as Hyein stood up and patted my left shoulder.</p><p>"Just don't screw it up next time," she said.</p><p>"I won't," I nodded solemnly as she left. A while later, Jisu entered the room.</p><p>"Oh, there you are," she said.</p><p>"Uh... hi," I greeted.</p><p>"Is there a place where you store your phone chargers around here?" Jisu asked as she showed a phone charger. "They said they keep extra supplies in the storeroom."</p><p>"Oh, right here. I'll take it," I replied as Jisu gave me the charger and placed it in the box filled with other phone chargers.</p><p>"Listen, I'm sorry about what happened with your husband..."</p><p>"Oh... right..."</p><p>"This must be really hard for you."</p><p>"It's okay."</p><p>"By the way, what are you doing here?" Jisu asked me.</p><p>"Oh... I'm in charge of this storeroom. I keep a list of the supplies and make sure everything's organized," I answered before asking. "Did you need something?"</p><p>"Do you have any lighters left."</p><p>"Lighters? We've got tons."</p><p>I gave her a lighter.</p><p>"Thanks," Jisu said before she stopped.</p><p>"Uh... Jisu?" I called out to her and she snapped out of her stare.</p><p>"Uh, what?"</p><p>"D you need something else or are you just going to stare?"</p><p>"No, I'm good..."</p><p>"Okay..."</p><p>And with that, Jisu walked out of the storeroom.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Jisu's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>As I exited the storeroom, I saw Jayhun and Sangsu but I suddenly imagined them with bleeding noses. After shaking myself out of my trance, I let out a sigh of relief.</p><p>"This isn't good..." I whispered to myself as Jayhun approached me.</p><p>"Hey, you okay?" he asked me.</p><p>"Yeah, I'm fine..." I replied.</p><p>"Are you having trouble sleeping because you're worried about Hyun? You're up pretty late."</p><p>"Well, that's part of it. I just hope they make it back okay."</p><p>"I'm sure they'll get back safely. I've been praying really hard for him!" Jayhun reassured me.</p><p>This eased my tension a bit.</p><p>"Oh, great. That makes me feel better," I sighed again before I started telling Jayhun about something. "Hey, listen..."</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>"There's something I need to tell you."</p><p>I told him there are more infected people in this building.</p><p>"What? More infected people?" Jayhun gasped in surprise.</p><p>"Shh!" I shushed him. "Keep your voice down."</p><p>I looked around to make sure no one is around to listen to our talk.</p><p>"'Infected' isn't the right word. This isn't a virus," I began.</p><p>"You sure about that?" Jayhun asked me again. "Or is that what that kid says?"</p><p>"Maybe. But it makes perfect sense. There was definitely something up with that vote."</p><p>"Everyone was so hostile. Even to Hyun and Dae-shim. If this is true, then we're in serious trouble."</p><p>"That's right. At least we managed to keep Hyun and Dae-shim under control since they were out in the open. But if that many people are keeping this a secret, then our 'safe place' isn't very safe at all. We're only pretending it's safe."</p><p>Jayhun pondered for a while before he realized something.</p><p>"I heard the security guard closed off the underground parking lot ahead of time so there aren't any monsters down there," He then took out his car keys. "And my car should be safely parked there. We could leave right now if you want, that is."</p><p>"Will you go with me?" I asked him.</p><p>"Of course. We've been through a lot since apartment 1107."</p><p>"Does that mean you're leaving Hyun and Dae-shim behind?" Hyuk said as we turned to where he was standing.</p><p>"You're a lot colder than I remember," he said.</p><p>"What? What did you just say...?" Jayhun demanded an answer from Hyuk.</p><p>"You two will never... leave this place," Hyuk pointed out as Jayhun aimed his katana at him. "Whoops-"</p><p>"What the hell do you mean by that?"</p><p>Hyuk didn't do anything but smiled at us.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Wook's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>Once I came to, I decided to carry Yuri out of that stairwell. After we got out, Yuri came to and she suddenly started wheezing.</p><p>"Snap out of it, Yuri!" I said to her. <em>'Her neck doesn't seem broken. I don't see any injuries, either... Damn it, what's wrong with her then...?'</em></p><p>"My backpack... the front pocket... left side..." Yuri said between pants and wheezes.</p><p>I reached in her backpack and found what appears to be an inhaler.</p><p><em>'An asthma attack?!'</em> I thought to myself before giving the inhaler to Yuri.</p><p>"Are you okay?" I aske her.</p><p>"Yeah..." Yuri replied as she took a few deep breaths. "Much better now..."</p><p>"Is that your only inhaler?"</p><p>"Yeah, it's my last one. And there's not much left in it. Once I use this up... he he... he he he... I'll really be screwed," Yuri said before she stopped and stared at me. "Your face..."</p><p>"Oh, it's nothing," I assured her.</p><p>"Come here. They'll get infected if you don't do something about them."</p><p>Yuri then wrapped some bandages around my head.</p><p>"W-What the heck did you do for work?" I asked her.</p><p>"I'm a caregiver. I'm not very good at it but I can do basic first aid," Yuri replied.</p><p>"Man, it's a good thing I saved you. I didn't know you were so talented."</p><p>"I was lucky. I can't believe I survived an attack from a monster..."</p><p>"Same here. I didn't know monsters could throw a fist like that. That was one hell of a different monster."</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Dae-shim's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>After we were chased by that speed monster, we were able to lose it by hiding in one of the empty rooms on the floor we are currently on.</p><p><em>'Drat. We barely managed to lose that monster. Now what should we do?'</em> I thought to myself as Hyun peeked at the door. We then hear its footsteps, which are coming from outside.</p><p><em>'If Hyun and I keep on hiding like this, that speedster might go after Wook and Yuri now that they have taken out by it. Let's pray that they're safe for now,'</em> I thought to myself again before I realized something. <em>'Judging by how fast it is, I'd say that he is an athlete before he was monsterized.'</em></p><p>That was when I noticed Hyun standing up and rummaging the desk nearby.</p><p>"You're pretty damn fast, but..." I heard him mutter.</p><p>"What are you planning to do, Hyun?" I asked him.</p><p>"Let me say that we're gonna need more firepower if we're gonna take down that speed monster," Hyun said as he broke a glass bottle into pieces and gave me some fishing line.</p><p>"Hmm..." I began thinking where this will lead.</p><p>After we headed outside to put our plan in motion, which is tying one end the fishing line on the doorknob of the apartment we were hiding and the other end of the line on the doorknob of the apartment second to the right end of the hallway we were currently in, Hyun motioned to hide in the corner and wait for the right time. Hyun then banged two plastic bottles to make enough loud noise the draw the speed monster to where we were. Once the speed monster is in our sight...</p><p>"Bring it on, asshole," Hyun said with a smirk and suddenly sprinted towards us. But as soon as it was a few meters in front of us, it came across our trip wire and, with a snap, it slid under the wire, much to our surprise.</p><p>"What the? I thought he was gonna trip and fall," I gasped before I furrowed my eyebrows with determination. "No matter."</p><p>I readied my whip and, with Hyun and his spear, incapacitated the speed monster with another electric shock.</p><p>"<strong>GUUUURRRRGGGHHHH UGGGGHHHH...</strong>" it screamed in agony.</p><p>"DIEEEEEEEE!" Hyun screamed. We pulled back our weapons and saw that monster is now incapacitated and burning red from the electric shock.</p><p>"How did you like that?" Hyun smugly asked.</p><p>"A finish line just for you," I continued as Hyun opened a bottle filled with lighter fluid.</p><p>"It's a good thing I kept one of these. I'm so glad it's not broken," he said before he threw the contents on the speed monster. I took out a matchbook and we proceeded to burn the monster to death. But, for some reason, I had the sudden feeling that I wanted to save this monster. I felt my body tremble as everything went black.</p><p>
  <em>"Well, what are you standing here for?!"</em>
</p><p>I looked around and saw my doppelgänger except now that he is completely white. His eyes were sunken and he had a sinister smile plastered on his face.</p><p>"You again?!" I glared at my doppelgänger.</p><p>
  <em>"I see that you have no problem hurting monsters with that whip, huh? But what about your true goal, the reason why you were here in the first place? What was it? Oh, right. Saving all the monsters and all the people in this town."</em>
</p><p>I continued glaring at him as he continued talking.</p><p>
  <em>"I thought you would have realized it by now. You and your friend here are right. That thing used to be a human."</em>
</p><p>"Yes, he was. But he killed his own friend and I'm not letting him get away with that, even if I will save him."</p><p>
  <em>"True. But still, he was a normal person before."</em>
</p><p>"He... He... He's just a monster who kills people out of spite and envy," I stammered.</p><p>
  <em>"Dae-shim, you ignored my warning and your own ideals and chose reality. Now you must pay the price."</em>
</p><p>The next thing I knew, he was clutching my neck. I struggled to breath and attempted to free myself from his grasp but, somehow, I couldn't.</p><p>
  <em>"What's wrong? Why did you ignore your goals of saving all the monsters and people that you have set since you started making that cure 3 years ago. You promised yourself to stick to your ideals!"</em>
</p><p>And that was when memories came flooding in my head, from the first time Hyun and I battled a monster, and witnessed the death of the kids' dad. I gave in and sighed.</p><p>"You're right. This monster is worth saving," I said in a trance-like voice as I took out a syringe and a bottle of the cure I made. I filled the syringe with serum, removed the needle cover, and approached the speed monster. But once I was about to inject the cure into the speed monster, I heard a voice.</p><p>It said, "Dae-shim, snap out of it!"</p><p>This made me snap out of trance and I found out I was kneeling in front of the monster and that Yuri and Wook are already here.</p><p>"What happened?!" I asked.</p><p>"You were about to inject something in that monster. But I don't know what it is," Yuri replied.</p><p>"Oh... What were we gonna do again?"</p><p>"We were gonna burn the speed monster to death," Hyun answered as I stood up, returned the cure in the jar, cleaned and covered the needle, and placed the jar and the syringe back in my bag.</p><p>And with that, Hyun and I lit up our matches and threw it at the speed monster's body. We then watched it burn to ashes and once, there is nothing left of it, we continued heading to apartment 1408. However, I became worried that everyone in this building is gonna know what I'd been carrying in my shoulder bag. I guess I'll just have to tell them someday.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Into the Fire (Part 1)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Hyuk's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>As everyone else is resting, Eun and I decided to sit by the gym equipment.</p><p>"Do you get a kick out of making people dislike you?" Eun asked me.</p><p>"Huh? Did you see that?" I asked her.</p><p>"Yeah. I didn't mean to. I just happened to be there. Do you have to talk like such a douche?"</p><p>"There are times in life when you get shit on."</p><p>"I wonder if Hyun and Dae-shim will be able pull it off..."</p><p>"Well..., they have Wook with them, so it should work out somehow. I sure hope those kids make it back safely," Eun wondered.</p><p>"Same here," I agreed before I remembered provoking those two by dumping the two kids a while earlier and smiled. "You should have seen the looks on their faces."</p><p>"Hm? What?" Eun asked</p><p>"Don't worry," I assured my sister. "They'll make it. I know they will."</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Dae-shim's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>Upon reaching our destination, we were greeted by the tear-eyed kids, who ran over and hugged us.</p><p>"Hyun, Dae-shim, you're alive!" Yeong exclaimed with relief.</p><p>"Of course we're alive," I chuckled as Seop approached Yuri and Wook.</p><p>"You made it. I thought you might've broken your necked and croaked," he said.</p><p>"Gee, thanks. Come on, I know you were worried," Yuri replied.</p><p>"I heard what happened from the old man. You cam back sooner than I thought," Dusik said before turning to Wook and Yuri and asking, "Who are they?"</p><p>"They're Wook Pyeon and Yuri Park. I already met Wook when I moved here and Yuri joined us a while ago," I said.</p><p>"Uh... by the way..." Hyun began. "Where's the lady?"</p><p>"Oh yeah," I realized that. "Is Ms. Lim still around?"</p><p>Dusik, Sook, and Yeong shared a look of worry and showed us where Myeong-ja is. To our shock, the giant baby inside the bathroom and you know what's worse? The giant baby <strong>is</strong> Myeong-ja.</p><p>"The poor lady..." Hyun mused.</p><p>"Are you telling that monster is the lady who used to push around that empty stroller?" Wook asked.</p><p>"I saw her a few times, too... My God..." Seop answered.</p><p>"A-Are you sure we should leave her like this...?" Yuri asked.</p><p>"I... I... I can't believe it," I gasped and stammered in disbelief. "Why did that happen to her?"</p><p>"The monster got her..." Yeong said as he sniffed. "I feel bad for her..."</p><p>"No," Hyun said. "I bet she's happy now."</p><p>"What do you mean?" Dusik asked.</p><p>"If what the monster says is true, that is."</p><p>I carefully examined the now-monsterized Myeong-ja and said, "And it looks like she's not gonna attack us, so we'll be okay."</p><p><em>"This may be your chance to finally save that woman from herself,"</em> the voice in my head said.</p><p>"I know but... I don't think today is the right time," I whispered back before turning to Hyun and Wook, who began asking Dusik's help.</p><p>"So you want to convert a car into an armored vehicle?" Dusik said.</p><p>"Yeah. Is it possible?" Wook replied.</p><p>"Sure, as long as you've got the parts."</p><p>"We'll get them somehow."</p><p>"Hmm... Alright. I'll go with you."</p><p>"Just to let you know in advance, the situation downstairs isn't great either," Hyun piped up.</p><p>"I promised Myeong-ja, remember?" Dusik said as he turned to the bathroom and then to the kids. "I promised her to take care of their dad's body."</p><p>"Hmm..." I pondered at that.</p><p>"By the way, sir. You sure you have a lot of food. Do you usually keep this much food at home because you can't walk?" Wook asked again.</p><p>"Basically, yeah..." Dusik pointed out.</p><p>"It would be a waste to leave it behind, but it's also a lot to carry with us..."</p><p>"Guys, won't the monster catch us if we travel in a group?" I asked.</p><p>"We don't all need to go downstairs, though," Dusik replied. "The security guard is probably the one who broke the elevator. Although I'm not sure why..."</p><p>"So?" Wook piped up.</p><p>"He couldn't possibly have known how to really break it like an expert would. At best, he probably just shut off the power."</p><p>Hyun and I silently gasped upon hearing this.</p><p>Dusik continued, "If you can just get me down to the first floor, I can fix it. The elevator, I mean."</p><p>"Okay, but how are we gonna get you there?" I asked.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>3rd Person POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>And so, Wook decided to carry Dusik over his back. Of course, it took him a while to do that because Dusik is heavier than he realized.</p><p>"Sorry about this, big guy," Dusik sheepishly apologized.</p><p>Wook grunted, "Every thought of going on a diet?"</p><p>At the same time, Yuri and Seop were having their own conversation.</p><p>"Are you sure you don't want to change the apartments? You can't really use the bathroom here," Seop stated. "Plus, that thing in the bathroom... there's no telling when it might turn dangerous."</p><p>"But the kids don't want to leave," Yuri argued.</p><p>Seop hesitated for a while but relented, "Well, hang in there. Take good care of the kids."</p><p>"It can't possibly be harder than taking care of you."</p><p>"Hmph-"</p><p>As Wook, Dusik, Hyun, and Dae-shim head out the door, Wook was stopped by Yuri, who gave him her cellphone and earbuds.</p><p>"Make sure you bring me back my phone in one piece, okay?" she said.</p><p>"I-I'll be back before your inhaler runs out," Wook stammered as he blushed.</p><p>"What's this now?" Dusik cheekily asked. "Are you two dating?"</p><p>Hyun and Dae-shim looked at the bathroom door.</p><p><em>'So this was your final choice. What a beautiful desire. I'm thinking of staying here and fighting a bit longer. Wherever you are in there, I hope you're happy,'</em> Hyun commented in his head.</p><p><em>'Don't worry, Ms. Lim. Once I save you, I will help cope with the loss of your baby. I guarantee it. But right now, I'm gonna let you enjoy your fantasy while you can,'</em> Dae-shim thought.</p><p>With that, Wook, Dusik, Hyun, Dae-shim, and Seop headed outside and down to fix the elevator.</p><p>At the ground floor, Hyuk was playing a video game in the power room when the unnamed man opened the door,</p><p>"You pulled another all-nighter huh?" he said.</p><p>"I couldn't get to sleep..." Hyuk said.</p><p>"They're back. They all made it."</p><p>This made Hyuk smile and he went out of the room to see that Hyun, Dae-shim, Wook, Seop, and Dusik. Everyone was relieved they came down in one piece.</p><p>As Jisu was about to hug Hyun and Dae-shim, all three of them start to blush.</p><p>"Hey, you made it!" Jisu exclaimed as she pinched Hyun's cheeks.</p><p>"Ow! Hey!" Hyun screamed in pain as Dae-shim giggled at Hyun's predicament.</p><p>"We don't have a wheelchair, so please sit here for now," Sangsu said as he gave an office chair to Dusik.</p><p>"How nice of you," Dusik commented. "I must be the guest of honor huh?"</p><p>"I knew you would make it back, Mr. Mobster Guy," Eun said as she approached Wook. "Did you draw some more lines on your arm?"</p><p>"Not enough," Wook replied.</p><p>"That bandage on your head makes you look cool. It looks like you're back to your old self now."</p><p>Wook sighed in exasperation, "Hah... I just got back and I'm already getting a headache."</p><p>Eun gave him a smile. Hyuk approached Hyun, Dae-shim, and Jisu.</p><p>"For now, we had better block the entrance again. Just in case..." he said as Hyun and Dae-shim turned to him. "Where are the kids?"</p><p>"What?" Hyun and Dae-shim asked.</p><p>"I was sure you would have rescued them. Was I wrong?"</p><p>"You provoked us on purpose?" Hyun asked in astonishment.</p><p>"That look on your face was so real. I'm kind of disappointed," Hyuk sighed before he met a punch from Hyun, drawing the attention of everyone else present.</p><p>"Hey! Take it easy!" Wook exclaimed as he attempts to restrain Hyun.</p><p>"Let go!" he exclaimed as he struggled to free himself.</p><p>"Let them go. Hyun is just doing what he needs to do," Hyuk said, much to Eun and Jisu's surprise.</p><p>"You shouldn't have done that, Hyuk Lee!" Dae-shim said as he glared at Hyuk. "That made us shaken to the very core!"</p><p>"Just be grateful I only punched you in the mouth," Hyun said through gritted teeth. "I'd really like to plant one right in your face but I held back because you probably can't get new glasses anymore."</p><p>"I appreciate that. How about we shake on it and make up now?" Hyuk suggested.</p><p>"Cut the bullshit, asshole!" Hyuk and Dae-shim yelled back.</p><p>"Is this what you brought me here for?!" Dusik exclaimed in question as everyone turned to him. "The kids are safe and you could use a haircut, hippie. So now, it's time to bring them down here."</p><p>"You're going back up again?" Jisu asked.</p><p>"This time, it will be easier to get up there. With the power of machines."</p><p>
  <strong>A while later...</strong>
</p><p>"The monster fell down the elevator shaft?" Hyuk repeated in question.</p><p>"Yeah, it was this spider-looking one. It got away," Hyun replied.</p><p>"And I know that thing survived, being a monster and all," Dae-shim added.</p><p>"It might be dangerous to run the elevator if it's still in the shaft," Wook finished, while carrying Dusik again.</p><p>"Left side or right side?" Dusik asked.</p><p>"Left," Dae-shim, Hyun, and Wook answered.</p><p>"We better leave the left one alone for now and just right side up and running," Hyuk said.</p><p>"The right elevator was stopped on the 14th floor, where my place is," Dusik stated as they entered the power room. "So there shouldn't be any major problems."</p><p>"That's right. I know what you mean. Since Dae-shim and I almost got killed," Hyun agreed as he and Dae-shim remembered the time they had a near encounter with the blind monster a few days ago as Dae-shim nodded. "We used our weapons..."</p><p>"Well for now, just get the right elevator running, sir," Hyuk requested.</p><p>"Got it," Dusik replied.</p><p>Hyun and Dae-shim pouted as no one listened to their words.</p><p>"I knew it. The power has just been shut off. Don't forget to push the red thing on the far left... in the bottom row," Dusik exclaimed.</p><p>"That sounds easy," Wook commented before noticing the button Dusik mentioned. "Is that it?"</p><p>"Yep. Easy peasy, huh?"</p><p>"No wonder..."</p><p>"This is why they say it's important to learn a trade."</p><p>Dusik pressed the button and said, "Alright. All done."</p><p>Outside, Eun sees that the sign on the right elevator has finally lit to read '14', "It worked. The light is back on! The elevator is working again!"</p><p>"Does this mean we can go back up to our apartments now?" a woman asked Jay.</p><p>"I left some stuff at home I'd like to get," he said.</p><p>"There are still monsters all over the building so it won't be easy," Jayhun mused.</p><p>Eun looked at the elevator light again. She noticed it change from 14 to 15. Suddenly the 'max capacity' caption lit up, much to her confusion.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Jisu's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>I was playing with an acoustic guitar in the recreation room when Hyun and Dae-shim entered the room.</p><p>"I thought you played bass," Hyun said.</p><p>"The acoustic guitar was my first instrument, not the bass," I replied.</p><p>"Where did you even get it?" Dae-shim asked.</p><p>"I found it in the storeroom," I answered.</p><p>"And you're not gonna play it here, are you?" Hyun chided.</p><p>"Why? Afraid I'll make a little noise?" I retaliated.</p><p>"Hey!" Hyun yelled back.</p><p>"It's quieter than you think if you play softly," I mused.</p><p>"Heh... You're right," Hyun piped up.</p><p>"Hey, um... Do you think she's happy?" I asked.</p><p>"You mean Ms. Lim, right?" Dae-shim replied.</p><p>"Yeah, Wook told me."</p><p>"Yeah, that just happened," Hyun sighed.</p><p>"Still that's amazing. Turning into a baby like that... she must've really, really loved her kid..." I mused.</p><p>"Yeah. It really is incredible," I agreed.</p><p>"No doubt. A mother's love can surpass even the barrier of death," Dae-shim added.</p><p>"I wish my mom was more like her..." I sighed before I resumed my guitar practice. "All right. I should write a song dedicated to her."</p><p>"What? Like right now?" Hyun asked.</p><p>"Yeah," I replied. "I can put something together in no time with a few simple chords!"</p><p>I started playing guitar chords C, G, Am, and F.</p><p>"That sounds nice," Hyun mused.</p><p>"Yep, they call those the money chords. Now we'll add a melody," I said before humming a tune to accompany my musical piece.</p><p>Just then, I felt Hyun's hand touching my arm.</p><p>"That melody is too said," Hyun said as he grinned at me. "Can you play something... brighter?"</p><p>I smiled at him before Dae-shim interrupted.</p><p>"Is it okay if I exit this room?" he asked. "I'm gonna check the elevator."</p><p>"Sure," I replied.</p><p>"Thanks," Dae-shim then made it out to check what's happening at the elevators.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Into the Fire (Part 2)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>First episode/chapter to stray away from the original story. Please bear with me.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Eun's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>"Um, guys?" I called out to the other residents.</p><p>"Yeah?" Jay asked.</p><p>"Something's not right," I replied showing the elevator counter.</p><p>"What's wrong?" Jayhun asked.</p><p>"It's coming down on its own and nobody pushed the button!"</p><p>This made all of us flinch, with some of us drawing us weapons to defend themselves.</p><p>"Everyone, get ready!" Jayhun exclaimed as the elevator doors open to reveal... Mr. Kim?</p><p>"Mr. Security Guard?" Jay said in surprise as Dae-shim approached us.</p><p>"What's going on?" he asked before he noticed the security guard at the elevator. "What the... Mr. Kim? I thought he was dead."</p><p>"Hey, you finally made it," a woman said as she approached the security guard. "How did you manage to survive? We're safe, thanks to you... What a relief..."</p><p>"Get back!" I yelled at her as she turned to me. "That thing isn't human!"</p><p>Suddenly, Mr. Kim's face starts to contort and his eyes became red and sunken.</p><p>"<strong>ROTTEN... FISH...?</strong>" the now-monsterized Mr. Kim moaned as all of us gasped in fear.</p><p>"<strong>ROTTEN... FISH... MUST... DIE...!</strong>" Mr. Kim exclaimed as he stabbed the woman with the weed whacker.</p><p>We were shocked.</p><p>Blood was splattered on the floor.</p><p>And, in an instant, the woman fell dead to the floor.</p><p>"Run!" all the residents who didn't have weapons were forced to run away, leaving only me, Jayhun, Dae-shim, and the man.</p><p>"<strong>...FOUR...</strong>"</p><p>Jayhun charged at Mr. Kim but the latter used his weed whacker to push him away.</p><p>"Ugh! Urgh!" Jayhun groaned in pain as his shirt was stained by his own blood.</p><p>"Die!" the man hit Mr. Kim with a wooden stick but the latter didn't recoil in pain. In retaliation, Mr. Kim also slashed him to death, in front of me and Dae-shim.</p><p>"Oh, no!" Dae-shim exclaimed and before he and I knew it, Mr. Kim was now looming over us.</p><p>"<strong>NOW... SIX.</strong>"</p><p>"Mr... Kim?" I shook myself to the very core in fear.</p><p>"Now... now, Mr. Kim," Dae-shim fearfully tried to reassure him. "Just... relax. Drop the weed whacker... and... and... no one... will... get hurt."</p><p>"<strong>YOU... LITTLE... BRATS...!</strong>" Mr. Kim groaned in anger as he was about to kill us.</p><p>"STOP!" Jayhun interrupted as he got up and readied his shield. "Remember me, Mr. Kim?"</p><p>"<strong>JESUS... FREAK...</strong>" Mr. Kim groaned.</p><p>"Come on, really?" Jayhun deadpanned.</p><p>"<strong>JUST... DIE!</strong>" Mr. Kim brandished his weed whacker again.</p><p>"And the Lord said, let there be light!" Jayhun exclaimed as his shield began to glow, blinding Mr. Kim. He proceeds to charge and make the security guard fall over, but he didn't move an inch.</p><p>In retaliation, he pushed Jayhun to the wall hard, barely incapacitating him.</p><p>"No!" I exclaimed.</p><p>"Ugh..." Jayhun grunted in pain. "Is... Is this... it?"</p><p>Mr. Kim raised his foot and realized what he was about to do: he was going to kill Jayhun by stomping on his head.</p><p>"NOOOOO!" Dae-shim screamed as he used his whip to stop Mr. Kim's foot mid-stomp.</p><p>"Dae-shim," Jayhun looked over to him.</p><p>"Eun, pull him out! Please, hurry!" Dae-shim exclaimed to me and I did what he said.</p><p>"<strong>YOU... WILL... PAY... FOR... THIS... NERD!</strong>" Mr. Kim snarled as he struggled to free his ensnared foot.</p><p>After a brief struggle, Mr. Kim manage to free himself by throwing Dae-shim aside, along with his whip. His monstrous face changed back to normal.</p><p>
  <strong>Meanwhile...</strong>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Hyun's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>Jisu and I were just listening to more music when Byeong-Il and Sangsu entered the room in panic.</p><p>"Wh-What... What the hell's going on?!" Jisu asked.</p><p>"The security guard...! He's... He became a monster!" Sangsu said as he locked the door while panting.</p><p>"What?!" Jisu asked as I gasped in shock.</p><p>"Get that table for me, miss!" Sangsu said. "We need to block this door!"</p><p>"Wait a minute!" Jisu interrupted and asked. "Where are the others?! Where's Dae-shim?!"</p><p>"I don't know!" Sangsu replied, making us flinch. "That monster just killed two of us before we could blink! We need to stay alive!"</p><p>"Step aside!" I yelled. "I'll go!"</p><p>"No way! If you open that door, we're all dead!" Sangsu retorted.</p><p>"So you're saying we should just abandon everyone out there?!" Jisu demanded as she grabbed Byeong-Il's shirt.</p><p>"Please... get out of my way!" I yelled pleadingly. "I said get out of the way!"</p><p>"Are you out of your mind?! What the hell's wrong with you?!" Sangsu asked. "They can protect themselves!"</p><p>"Come to think of it, this kid is turning into a monster, too!" Byeon-il exclaimed as he pointed at me. "Maybe he's trying to hand us over to the monster!"</p><p>"What?!" I asked.</p><p>Byeong-Il continued, "That must be it! Otherwise, why the hell would you want to play the hero now...?!"</p><p>Jisu threatened him with her bat and said, "Would you watch your fucking mouth?"</p><p>This made me and Sangsu looked at them.</p><p>"Are you going to open it? Or should I beat the crap out of you first?" Jisu continued.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Dae-shim's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>As I got up and readied my whip again, I feel someone tapping on my shoulder, I turned around to see Seop and his crossbow.</p><p>"Are you trying to draw every monster in the area over here?" Seop asked.</p><p>"<strong>OLD... MAN...</strong>" Mr. Kim moaned.</p><p>Seop fired an arrow at him, but he didn't react.</p><p>"Wow..." Seop breathed in. "He didn't even blink."</p><p>"Do you think we can kill him?" Eun asked as she and Jayhun approached us.</p><p>"Kill him? Don't be silly. Just run," Seop said.</p><p>"But..."</p><p>"Go. You've still got a long life ahead of you."</p><p>Eun did what Seop said and ran to safe place.</p><p>"I'm sorry, sir!" she exclaimed in tears.</p><p>"Don't be," Seop replied.</p><p>"Might wanna stay out of the way, Jayhun. I don't want you getting hurt again," I said to Jayhun.</p><p>"Okay," Jayhun replied as he stepped back.</p><p>"I'm not letting you hurt anyone here ever again, Mr. Kim," I said to the security guard with determination and anger in my voice.</p><p>As Seop and I brandished our weapons, Mr. Kim is finally looming over us and was gonna kill us with that weed whacker. Suddenly, we saw Hyun run past us and stopped Mr. Kim's weed whacker with his spear. Naturally, Mr. Kim threw him aside as if he was a rag doll.</p><p>"Hyun!" I and Jayhun exclaimed as we ran over to him.</p><p>"Dae-shim! Jayhun!" we saw Jisu approaching us. "Thank goodness you're alright."</p><p>"What happened to you, Jayhun?" Hyun asked as we explained our near-death experience to them, which shook them to the very core.</p><p>However, I can tell that Hyun was frozen on the spot with a fearful look on his face. He was back in his trance-like state again.</p><p>"Hyun!" Jisu exclaimed as she pulled Hyun's hoodie to keep him out of Mr. Kim's weed whacker. "Come on, snap out of it!"</p><p>"<strong>YOU... NOISY... BITCH...</strong>" Mr. Kim snarled as his face transitioned back to monstrous form.</p><p>Jisu tried to hit him with her bat, but he caught it and threw her aside.</p><p><em>"Ah... for once, you're finally following your own goals and desires."</em> my doppelgänger said in my mind.</p><p>
  <strong>My Mind</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>"You saved Jayhun from death and now you will save him, Jisu, and everyone else from further trauma and Mr. Kim from himself."</em>
</p><p>I didn't respond.</p><p>
  <em>"What's wrong? This was your choice, remember? Didn't you know that Mr. Kim has gone through so many abuses from the residents here throughout his working hours?"</em>
</p><p>"Yes. But he killed 2 residents a while ago and I'm not letting him get away with what he did."</p><p>
  <strong>Reality</strong>
</p><p>"Jisu! Come on Hyun, Dae-shim, let's go!" Jayhun said to us as he ran over to Jisu but, for some reason, I didn't hear him as I felt my surroundings going numb. Hyun and I walked over to Jisu.</p><p>"No, it can't be... Hyun... Dae-shim, don't do this to us," Jisu pleaded as she and Jayhun looked at us in fear.</p><p>"Don't let them beat you, you fucking bastards!" Jisu and Jayhun exclaimed simultaneously as a tentacle burst out of the book shelf but Hyun and I successfully grabbed it as we snapped out of our trances.</p><p>"Hey, Jisu, Jahyun, what's with all the swearing?" Hyun asked.</p><p>"Watch out!" Jisu exclaimed as Mr. Kim was brandishing his weed whacker again when Seop fired an arrow at his foot.</p><p>This distracted him enough for me and Hyun to thrust the tentacle on Mr. Kim's abdomen. There was a slurping sound, as Mr. Kim groaned in agony until he was nothing but skinny.</p><p>Seop fired an arrow at the side of his head while Jisu hit him on the cheek with her bat.</p><p>"<strong>GAGH... AH...</strong>" Mr. Kim kept on moaning until he fell lifeless on the floor.</p><p>"<strong>I HAVE... WHAT I NEED...</strong>" I heard the monster peering from the bookshelf hole said before it stalked away.</p><p>"Now, does anyone have something we can burn him with?" Hyun asked.</p><p>"What's going on?" Hyun, Jisu, Jayhun, and I turned around to see Wook, Dusik, Eun, and Hyuk walking over to us.</p><p>After a while of explaining, we burned Mr. Kim's body, covered the bodies of his 2 victims, and bandaged Jayhun up.</p><p>"Damnit," Wook angrily muttered. "I should have been more careful about turning the power on."</p><p>"This wouldn't have happened if we had radios!" Dusik grumbled. "Damn static interference."</p><p>"They'd still be alive if you didn't come down here and insist on fixing the elevator!" Byeong-Il argued.</p><p>"You're one to talk. You chickened out and just locked the door," Hyun contradicted.</p><p>"By the way," Hyuk began asking. "Where are the others?"</p><p>"They're hiding," I replied before I noticed Mr. Kim's body wriggling, with numerous faces imprinting on his back.</p><p>"What the hell?" Sangsu gasped. "Are those..."</p><p>"Faces in its body?" Seop replied. "Well, it looks like..."</p><p>"It must've absorbed its victims..." Hyun pointed out.</p><p>"No wonder the elevator said it was at max capa-Ouch!" Eun said before she flinched due to Hyk bandaging her arm.</p><p>"Stay still," he said.</p><p>I still remember the day I first met Mr. Kim. He was a good person and I can't believe he would kill anyone once he became a monster. I guess part of me is guilty of killing him with that monster outside.</p><p>"Hey, are you okay?" Jayhun asked me.</p><p>"No. I could've saved Mr. Kim when I had the chance. Now, I feel guilty for killing him with that monster outside," I replied.</p><p>"It's okay, Dae-shim," Jayhun assured me. "You were just doing what you thought as right and practical. Everyone does that on occasion."</p><p>"Thanks," I smiled.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>3rd Person POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>A while later, everything had finally settled. Dae-shim, Jayhun, and Wook took care of the 2 bodies in the recreation room.</p><p>"May they rest peace as they meet you again, O God," Jayhun prayed as Dae-shim and Wook placed some flowers on the dead bodies.</p><p>Just then, they saw Hyein sobbing in the corner near the door and Seon tending an unconscious Jay, whose forehead is bandaged.</p><p>"Ugh... I didn't hurt him on purpose... that damn coward... this makes me look terrible..." she said while crying. "But I'm a good person, I swear..."</p><p>"I wonder what she did to Jay," Dae-shim pondered.</p><p>Meanwhile, in the fitness room, Jisu and Hyun were cleaning the whole place, with Jisu mopping up the puddle of blood left by Jay after Hyein knocked him out.</p><p>"I'll never understand either of them. People or monsters..." Hyun mused as Dae-shim entered the room.</p><p>"What do you mean?" Jisu asked.</p><p>"The people who stopped us and the ones who caused this bloody mess. How could they be so selfish...?"</p><p>"Don't say that. They were probably just scared. After all, we're just too weak."</p><p>"Yeah," Dae-shim agreed. "I mean, they just don't what to do at a time of crisis."</p><p>This made Hyun feel more disappointed.</p><p>"Sorry," Jisu apologized before asking. "So, what are we going to do now? Are we using the elevator?"</p><p>"Yeah, Mr. Hahn's fixing the intercom in the security guard's office. Once he's done, he'll make an announcement about when we'll all meet up again," Hyun answered. "Wook and we will go with him."</p><p>"Isn't it dangerous to use the intercom?"</p><p>"It'll be fine. The sound will come from every speaker in the whole building, anyway. At least it'll be quieter than a certain someone playing bass in the middle of the night," Dae-shim assured her.</p><p>"Aw, come on. Still... this is exactly the kind of plan I'd expect from that kid, Hyuk. He's still using you and Dae-shim as shields. I mean I'm fine with it, but Wook..."</p><p>"Seriously, what did he do wrong?"</p><p>"Maybe he isn't even human."</p><p>Dae-shim, Hyun, and Jisu imagined Wook as a green-skinned muscular abomination <strong>(A/N 2: Recognize this anyone?)</strong>. They brushed it off with giggles before the laughter died down.</p><p>"So anyway, are you okay?" Hyun asked.</p><p>"Yeah," Jisu replied. "What about you two?"</p><p>"We're monsters, remember," Dae-shimreplied.</p><p>There was silence among the three before Jisu sighed.</p><p>"I know you two are trying to act like nothing happened before, but..."</p><p>"No, you're right," Hyun interrupted. "It was only for a second but the monster almost got me."</p><p>"So did mine," Dae-shim added. "But then... we heard voices swearing at us in the darkness."</p><p>"And we got so annoyed that it must've brought us back to our senses," Hyun wryly said. "Thanks for saving us, Jisu."</p><p>"Yeah," Dae-shim nodded.</p><p>"You owe me," Jisu said as she chuckled.</p><p>At the elevators, Hyuk has finished bandaging Eun's thigh.</p><p>"There, all done. Well? Can you walk on it?" Hyuk asked.</p><p>"Yeah. Thanks," Eun replied as Hyun sighed. "What's wrong?"</p><p>"Nothing. It's just..." Hyun trailed as he looked at the hole on the bookshelf.</p><p><em>'There was all that commotion... and yet, only one monster reacted to it?'</em> Hyun thought to himself before asking. "Do you think it's dangerous outside?"</p><p>"What?" Eun raised an eyebrow.</p><p>"There might still be hope."</p><p>Hyun went to the fitness room.</p><p>"What is it?" Jisu asked.</p><p>"Hyun, Dae-shim! I need a favor!" Hyuk said to them.</p><p>"What's in it for us?" Dae-shim asked.</p><p>"I want you two to go outside!" Hyuk replied, much to Dae-shim and Hyun's shock. "I need you to be my bait!"</p><p>"Are you serious?!" Dae-shim raised an eyebrow in question as Jisu angrily pulled Hyuk away. She then broke his glasses by bashing her head against it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The reason why I wanted Jayhun to live is because he is one my favorite characters in the webcomic.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. More Tension</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>3rd Person POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>Hyuk stood on his spot between the elevators, his glasses broken from Jisu bashing her head against it.</p><p>"So... what did Hyun and Dae-shim say?" Eun asked as she turned to her brother.</p><p>"Hyun said that he won't do it, but Dae-shim... I don't know..." Hyuk sighed as he replied.</p><p>"Of course they won't. Why'd you have to call them 'bait'? Are you nuts?"</p><p>Hyuk glanced at the hole in the bookshelf and said, "Are we just too afraid to go outside? Or is this peaceful stillness an illusion?"</p><p>"Who knows? But still, telling Hyun and Dae-shim to leave... that was a terrible idea."</p><p>"...Hm..." Hyuk trailed off as there was a brief silence between the two before he said. "By the way..."</p><p>"What?" Eun asked.</p><p>"Why do you keep sticking up for Hyun and Dae-shim?"</p><p>This made Eun tensed up in embarrassment.</p><p>"Do you have a crush on either of them? How sweet!" Hyuk cheekily said.</p><p>"SHUT UP!" Eun yelled as she is flustered from the thought of Hyun or Dae-shim being her crush.</p><p>Meanwhile, at the fitness room, Dusik inspected the now-beaten-up weapons of Hyun, Dae-shim, Jisu, and Jayhun.</p><p>"These things sure took such beatings," Dusik said.</p><p>"Yeah," Hyun replied. "So did Jisu's bat and Jayhun's shield..."</p><p>"Oh, man..." Dusk sighed. "That old security guard sure left me with a lot of work to do."</p><p>"Oh, I wouldn't blame him," Dae-shim muttered. "He was just stressed out and look at what happened to him a while ago."</p><p>"Can you really fix all this?" Hyun asked.</p><p>"Well, for starters, I'll need somewhere to work. They said I can use the security office."</p><p>"The security office...?" Hyun gasped as he and Dae-shim weren't unhappy with this. "But right now, there's..."</p><hr/><p>At the security office, Seok is smearing thousands upon thousands of circles on the walls and floors with lipstick. He started laughing manically as he continued drawing more circles on the wall by the bed.</p><p>"They're watching me!" he muttered. "They're looking at me right now! Tens of thousands of eyes... they're all watching me! Me! They're watching me!"</p><p>With that, his nose started to bleed as he dropped the lipstick. Before he knew it, he is now inside his head. As he looked around numerous white arms began to creep towards and surround him.</p><p><em>"You're a waste of life. All you do is make others miserable. Everyone's waiting. Waiting for you to die. Just die, you wife-beating trash. There's no single goddamn thing about you worth saving. No one loves old bastards like you. You're just a mean old fuck to them. Time to pay for you sins, fat-ass. You spent your whole life hurting others and now you get to die in the worst possible way. You disgusting pig. Ha! Hahahaha! Old pig! Hahahaha!"</em> the arms said to him.</p><p>"For God's sake, stop it!" Seok yelled. "What did I do wrong?! What did I do so goddamn wrong?! You bastards...! I'll kill you all! I'll kill you all when I turn into a monster! Every last one of you!"</p><p><em>"You're right,"</em> his soul said as he appeared from behind. <em>"It's not your fault at all."</em></p><p>"What?" Seok asked.</p><p>
  <em>"The reason you're so violent is your dad. You learned it from him, right? If kids don't grow up right, it's the parents' fault. Isn't that obvious?"</em>
</p><p>"Yeah... that's true..."</p><p>
  <em>"You only drink because breweries just keep on churning out booze. How can they sell people alcohol like that when it's so addictive? It's just wrong. You were only hitting the bottle because your life was a wreck. It's the world's fault for wearing you down in the first place. Those big companies took advantage of you, you poor guy."</em>
</p><p>"You feel sorry... for me?"</p><p>
  <em>"Of course. You only beat your wife because she's so damn stupid. She could've just used her brain if she didn't want to get hit, but she always did something to deserve it. And she's slow, too. Mumbling away like a moron. You wouldn't have hit her if talking could've straightened her out, right? I can't believe you survived living with a wife like that. You poor man.</em>
</p><p>"P-Poor man...?" Seok smiled wryly before he started laughing nervously. "Y-You're right. I have been through a lot. It's not my fault I'm like this."</p><p><em>"Repeat after me,"</em> his soul said. <em>"It's not my fault."</em></p><p>"I-It's not my fault..." Seok replied.</p><p><em>"It's not my fault!" </em>his soul repeated.</p><p>"It's not my fault!" Seok repeated back.</p><p>
  <em>"It's not my fault!"</em>
</p><p>"It's not my fault!" Seok yelled out loud.</p><p><em>"...Wow, what a dumbass,"</em> Seok's soul remarked, much to his shock as the former loomed over the latter. <em>"You really are a hopeless piece of shit. You seriously think it's not your fault?"</em></p><p>Seok remained silent.</p><p>
  <em>"You're not even worth manipulating. So... just die already."</em>
</p><hr/><p>In the recreation room, Seop, Hyuk, Eun, Jayhun, and Wook gazed on the two bodies.</p><p>"Thanks for saving me and Dae-shim," Eun said as she turned to Jayhun.</p><p>"No problem, Eun. I just can't stand Mr. Kim attacking innocent people in this building," Jayhun replied.</p><p>"We should be thanking you, too," Wook said to the two bodies.</p><p>"I don't like seeing younger folks go before me. Not one bit," Seop remarked.</p><p>"I didn't expect we'd lose so many people at once," Hyuk said. "I'll have to adjust everyone's schedules."</p><p>"Does this really seem like the time or place to say something like that?" Seop retorted. "They can hear you, you know."</p><p>"No, they can't," Hyuk replied. "They're all dead."</p><p>"What's wrong with you? You little brat. No wonder no one likes you..."</p><p>Hyuk held in his rage as he curled his right hand into a fist.</p><p>"So where should we take the bodies?" Seop asked.</p><p>"In room 212, sir," Wook said.</p><p>"Well, we'd better move them now."</p><p>"Let Wook, Jayhun, and me take care of this," Hyuk said as Seop glanced at him. "Please."</p><hr/><p>Back in Seok's mind, he is chasing his inner soul, trying to catch up with it.</p><p>"W-Wait... Hold on... Please... wait... please..." Seok called out while panting but his inner sould wouldn't relent, causing him to snap. "I can't take this anymore! I hate the way my wife looks at me with those cold, dead eyes, like I'm a piece of shit! I'm sick of my bank account that's always fucking empty!"</p><p>This made his inner soul stop dead in its tracks.</p><p>"I'm sick of how I always stink of booze... and how my son only ever calls me when he needs money," Seok continued ranting. "I'm sick of this old tracksuit, my goddamn hair falling out. I'm sick of <strong>everything</strong>! I know I'm garbage! I get it! But it's too late to change that now... My life's already shit. What the hell do you want me to do? Am I supposed to just snap my fingers and turn into a good husband and a good person?"</p><p>Seok then dropped to his knees and lamented, "Who... who would ever want to live like this...? Damn it... urgh... ergh..."</p><p><em>"Good Lord,"</em> his inner soul sighed. <em>"What am I going to do with you...? All right. I'll give you one last chance."</em></p><p>"R-Really?" Seok asked as it nodded. "Oh, thank you... Thank you! Thank you so much...! Thank you... Do... Do you want to know what my desire is...?"</p><p>
  <em>"Don't worry. I already know."</em>
</p><p>Back to reality, Seok started to shake violently as more blood flowed out of his know. His eyes became red and bloodshot and he screamed in agonizing pain.</p><p>Outside, Byeong-Il and Ji-Eun were talking.</p><p>"Well, I tried to be brave and fight but that security guard was just too strong," Byeong-Il began.</p><p>"Ah... I thought maybe you ran away..." Ji-Eun pointed out.</p><p>"Wh-What? Why would I do that? I can be very bra..."</p><p>They were interrupted by loud banging by the door nearby.</p><p>"W-What the hell is that...?"</p><p>"Oh, God... that guy must've turned into a monster!"</p><p>"Uh... heh... Are you sure...? I mean... so... what should we do?"</p><p>The loud banging got even more louder as Byeong-Il gave the wooden stick to Ji-Eun and ran off.</p><p>"Hey, where are you going?" Ji-Eun asked.</p><p>"I'll get help! I'll be right back!" Byeong-Il replied.</p><p>"What? W-Wait... Byeong-Il?!"</p><p>Suddenly, the door was violently ripped off its hinges and the lock was removed, too. Ji-Eun turned around to see Seok with long, unkempt hair, wide eyes, and sharp teeth.</p><p>"Uh... Hello," Ji-Eun greeted nervously.</p><p>"<strong>...LONE...</strong>" Seok growled.</p><p>"P-Pardon?"</p><p>"<strong>LEAVE ME... ALONE...!</strong>" Seok growled again before charging at her. However, he stopped when he saw his wife and Hyein nearby. Seon grabbed the stick as Wook, Jayhun, and Hyuk arrived.</p><p>"Who said you could turn into a monster?" Seon said to her husband. "You coward."</p><p>"<strong>LEAVE ME ALONE...</strong>" Seok growled.</p><p>"Where do you think you're going?!" Seon angrily asked as she hit her husband on the head with the stick.</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Flashback Start</strong>
  </span>
</p><p><em>"Was that your first time?"</em> Seon asked Hyein while tending the still-unconscious Jay.</p><p>
  <em>"What?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hitting someone, I mean."</em>
</p><p><em>"...Have you ever hit anyone before?"</em> Hyein asked.</p><p><em>"No, but I've been hit lots of times,"</em> Seon replied.</p><p>
  <em>"That sucks."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yeah, it does. But that's life."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"How are you so casual about it?! That's what I don't get about you!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Shush."</em>
</p><p>That's when Hyein grew concerned of Jay.</p><p><em>"He's not going to die... is he?"</em> Hyein asked Seon.</p><p><em>"He's just unconscious,"</em> Seon answered.</p><p>
  <em>"Then why won't he wake up?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'm surprised. I didn't think you were so afraid. You sure behaved differently when you handed me that knife. But it's not quite the same when you're the one in the driver's seat, is it?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You know, ever since the world fell apart, I keep thinking, 'So this is how my miserable life is going to end...' 'Is there anything I can do?' 'What would be the best way? To die?"</em>
</p><p>Seon turned to Hyein, with the former's nose bleeding.</p><p><em>"Seon..."</em> Hyein silently gasped.</p><p><em>"I have a favor to ask you, Hyein. When time comes, I want you to kill me,"</em> Seon said as she wiped the blood off her face.</p><p>Hyein gulped nervously until they hear a loud noise.</p><p>
  <em>"What the..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What's that noise?!"</em>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Flashback End</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>"<strong>GRR...</strong>" Seok growled in anger.</p><p>"I know exactly what I'm doing right now, so wake up, Seok Kim!" Seon yelled at her husband.</p><p>"Hey lady, what are you doing...?!" Wook demanded.</p><p>"Leave her alone!" Hyein interrupted him.</p><p>"What?!"</p><p>"Let Seon finish him off!"</p><p>"What the hell are you talking about?!"</p><p>Hyuk approached the two and said, "You're the worst, Hyein! All you do is boss everyone around! I've never actually seen you do anything yourself. And you're rude, too. But this time, you're right. If anyone's going to kill him, let it be the one who deserves to do it the most."</p><p>"<strong>YOU...</strong>" Seok sneered at his wife.</p><p>"Come back to your senses, then? Any last words?" Seon asked her monsterized husband.</p><p>"<strong>...I'm sorry,</strong>" Seok finally apologized.</p><p>"Good," Seon replied as she started bashing her husband with the stick.</p><p>"<strong>I... I'll try to be a better... person...</strong>" Seok continued but Seon didn't care.</p><p>"I need to do this," Seon said as she kept on hitting the stick on her husband as Hyein, Byeong-Il Jayhun, Wook, and Hyuk looked on in horror, the latter covering his sister's eyes.</p><p><em>'My God. She's beating her own husband,'</em> Jayhun thought to himself.</p><p>Blood splattered all over the nearby walls.</p><p>"Stop covering my eyes," Eun said as she removed her brother's hand. "I'm not a baby."</p><p>This kept on for a while until Seok passed out for taking many hits from Seon.</p><p>"Seon..." Hyein approached her as the latter was panting from exhaustion.</p><p>"He said... he was sorry," Seon said as she started to weep. "He apologized...!"</p><p>"Yeah, I heard him, too," Hyein replied.</p><p>"And yet, I... I... killed him..."</p><p>"Don't start regretting it now! You said it yourself. You had to do it."</p><p>Everyone else looked on in sadness as Hyun and Dae-shim took a peek from a corner. They looked at each other in disappointment, with Dae-shim shaking his head.</p><hr/><p>Outside, a pale-skinned monster with blank white eyes and a bleeding tongue was lying seemingly lifelessly on the pavement. Suddenly, it was dragged away.</p><p>"<strong>PRO...TEIN...</strong>"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Another Plan (Part 1)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Jayhun's POV</strong> </span>
</p><p>At the security office, Dusik, Jisu, Hyuk, and I went over to the computer in hopes of accessing the cameras and the intercom.</p><p>"Mic test, mic test," Hyuk said as he tested if the mic is working.</p><p>"What are you doing?! Get the hell out of my way!" Dusik pushed Hyuk aside to use the microphone. "Ahh, ahem. Listen up, dear beloved kids and Miss Park. It's time to move."</p><p>He then checked the camera footages, "Well, there are six cameras throughout the building. One on the first-floor lobby, one on the roof, one in each elevator, and one at the entrance in the middle of the parking lot."</p><p>"That shutter in the parking lot..." Jisu said as she noticed the hole on it.</p><p>"Yeah, totally busted," Dusik nodded.</p><p>"It seems someone must've broken it to get inside," I deducted.</p><p>"So where are we supposed to get a car from?" Jisu asked before turning to me. "Jayhun, you still have your car outside, right?"</p><p>"Yeah, but I'm not sure if I can get to it without drawing unwanted attention," I replied.</p><p>"We're taking the parking lot back," Hyuk spoke up.</p><p>"What?" Jisu and I were surprised by his words.</p><p>"I've been studying things on the security cameras for the last few days," Hyuk continued. "It seems like there are only three monsters down there."</p><p>So it's true. Upon seeing the interior camera of the parking lot, there are three monsters.</p><p>"You expect us to fight there completely unknown monsters at once?" Jisu asked again. "Are you trying to get us killed?"</p><p>"We don't have a choice," Hyuk replied.</p><p>"Don't you dare use Hyun or Dae-shim as a shield. Or I'll break your goddamn this time."</p><p>"Hey, easy there," Dusik tried to calm Jisu down. "You really need to chill out, lady."</p><p>"You three sure look out for each other," Hyuk said.</p><p>"We've been though a lot together," Jisu answered.</p><p>"You know," Hyuk grinned and let out a small chuckle. "You're a lot like Maria."</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"Never mind. Anyway, I am going to have to use Hyun and Dae-shim for something."</p><p>"You little son of a..."</p><p>"Easy there, Jisu," I said to calm her down.</p><p>"In fact, I already did. Right?" Hyuk pointed to the entrance to show Hyun and Dae-shim standing there.</p><p>"This is what you wanted, correct? The gasoline the security guard left," Hyun said as Dae-shim showed the gasoline canister.</p><p>"Where are the kids?" Hyuk asked.</p><p>"They're right here, safe and sound," Dae-shim motioned to where Sook and Yeong are.</p><p>"Thank God," I said as I let out a sigh of relief. "For a second, I thought those kids were done for."</p><p>"You didn't have to worry that much. Besides, Miss Park is with them," Dae-shim assured me.</p><p>"So what's the gasoline for?" Jisu asked Hyuk and I was just as curious as she is.</p><p>"I noticed something while I was watching the cameras. He left a gasoline container on the 15th floor before he came down to the first floor," Hyuk replied.</p><p>"He must have left it behind because it made the elevator too heavy to operate. He must have been planning on setting the building on fire. That goddamn monster," Dusik pointed out.</p><p>"We stopped by the 15th floor and picked it up on our way to the 14th floor," Dae-shim said. "We thought it might be useful if we run into a monster."</p><p>"So gasoline, huh...?" Jisu muttered.</p><p>"You know what the monsters' only weakness, right?" Hyuk said as Jisu and I nodded. "All right, so for this mission, we'll have Hyun, Dae-shim, Wook, Jayhun, Jisu, Mr. Ahn, and Miss Park. Dusik?"</p><p>"Yeah?" Dusik asked.</p><p>"Make sure you shut off the elevator again when they get back with the food and the gear. And can you fix the broken gear by the end of the day?"</p><p>"Kid, you're talking to MacGyver here."</p><p>Jisu turned to me and Jisu, saying, "Jisu and Jayhun, I want you to collect empty bottles for me."</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Yuri's POV</strong> </span>
</p><p>Once Hyuk laid out the plan, Seop and I were assigned to fill the bottles that Jisu and Jayhun collected with small pieces of cloth soaked in gasoline.</p><p>"Is the cloth supposed to go all the way in? It doesn't fit," I muttered.</p><p>"Don't you kids go out and protest nowadays?" Seop asked me.</p><p>"Hey, no one throws Molotov cocktails at protests now."</p><p>"Grandpa!" I heard Sook as she approached us.</p><p>"Hey, get out of here," Seop said to the kid. "This is no place for kids."</p><p>Sook seemed surprise but decided to drop it, saying, "Grandpa, Hyuk says he wants to talk to you guys. I think he called it, uh... a briefing?"</p><p>"That little bastard..." Seop gritted his teeth. "Ordering us like this..."</p><p>"Come on, you old grump," I said as I stood up.</p><p>"Grump? Me?" I can tell he was offended by my words.</p><p>"You act like you're surprised," I snickered at his reaction.</p><p>He sighed, "I tell you, young folks nowadays..."</p><p>We then walked over to where everyone is gathered for the briefing.</p><p>Hyun began his strategy, "The monsters want to survive just as badly as we do. As soon as they hear that shutter open, they'll come running. That's when we'll have to go down to the underground parking lot and use Molotov cocktails to blast the bastards back behind the shutter."</p><p>He then showed a diagram of who or what is needed to be done.</p><p>He continued, "Luckily, there's only one vehicle entrance to the parking lot. We'll force them right back out the way they came in. Dae-shim will handle first-aid and be a back-up in case one of us gets hurt. He, Yuri, Jayhun, and I will cover you guys from behind. We'll put out the fire on the floor with fire extinguishers. And once the shutter is closed again, we'll barricade it right away."</p><p>"That means we're all screwed if Dusik doesn't close the shutter in time," Wook pointed out.</p><p>"Don't worry. He'll be watching everything over the security cameras," Hyuk replied before turning to Seop. "Sir, how many Molotov cocktails do we have?"</p><p>"Thirteen," Seop answered.</p><p>"Will that be enough?" Wook asked.</p><p>"We all better hope so," Hyuk replied before looking around to find someone missing in our group, two to be exact. "By the way, where did our stormtrooper and healer go?"</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Hyun's POV</strong> </span>
</p><p>Dae-shim and I were currently hiding inside a room on the fourth floor.</p><p>"So, Dae-shim, what made you live here?" I asked.</p><p>"Me? Uh... well, I just needed to get away from all the humdrum I had from my city life. I'll only be here for just a month," Dae-shim replied before asking. "What about you, Hyun. What made you move here?"</p><p>"I moved here because I had to sell my house after my family died. I still can't believe that the money they left for me is just barely enough for me to survive for just one day. And that's not all!" I replied.</p><p>"I take it you don't have a good relationship with them?"</p><p>"Isn't it obvious?! Those motherfuckers who are my parents never paid attention to my school life, especially when I was bullied by that rich douchebag. They even told me to bare the abuse throughout the year until I graduate."</p><p>"I'm pretty sure there's a reason why they turned a blind eye to your predicament. They were probably too busy or something."</p><p>"It's not that. My bully turned out to be the son of my father's boss. He threatened me that if I ever speak up, his dad will fire mine. What's worse is that I overheard them and my sister talking about me, saying that I'm nothing a burden to them and that they were ashamed of the bullying I went through. Back then, they always thought of me as their pride and joy. Back then, my childhood was amazing. When they died in that car accident a few weeks ago, that was when I finally vent out my frustrations at them, especially when the money they left was $20 000, which was barely enough for me to live for just one day. So I sold our house and that's what brought me here."</p><p>After hearing this, I can tell that Dae-shim couldn't but feel bad for me.</p><p>"Gee. I didn't know, Hyun. I'm really sorry you're feeling so bad."</p><p>"It's okay," I reassured him. "I just needed someone to talk about these frustration I've been having ever since I started high school."</p><p>"But you should know that your family and your love for them is far more important than anything in your life, even that bully. And to be honest, my life isn't a bed of roses either."</p><p>"What do you mean?"</p><p>"You see, back then, my childhood wasn't great. My dad died when I was a baby. My mother, on the other hand, turned to a life of crime to compensate for our poverty. I never had any friends because I was afraid they might hate me because I used to be poor. One day, when my mother invited her 'friends' in our house, that's when she finally give in to crime, doing just for fun. One of them even had the gall to beat up. Fortunately, a neighbor called social services took me away and sent me to an orphanage, and although I'm finally free from my mom, I still couldn't make any friends in the orphanage since they always saw me as 'special.' However, at age 13, I was finally adopted by my new father. I finally had all the love that I can finally receive and give."</p><p>I was surprised at what he said.</p><p>"Wow. You know, Dae-shim, I'm really jealous. At least you have someone who loves you."</p><p>"So am I when you said that you had a happy childhood. You know, Hyun, we're not so different since we had issues with our families. Well, biological one for me."</p><p>"You think so?"</p><p>Dae-shim then held his hand out and nodded. I grabbed his hand and shook it, thus signifying our friendship.</p><p>"I know so," Dae-shim replied before noting the scars on my wrists. "By the way, why do you have those scars?"</p><p>"Um... you don't wanna know," I replied as I pulled my hand away.</p><p>"You're not supposed to just wander up here like this," I heard Eun as we saw her entering the room.</p><p>"Hey, Eun. Mr. Sangsu told us it was okay," Dae-shim said.</p><p>"And besides, you're up here, too, you know," I pointed out.</p><p>After a brief silence, Eun spoke up, "I heard you two live by yourselves."</p><p>"Are you taking a census or something?" I asked her.</p><p>"It's just, my brother and I live by ourselves, too."</p><p>"I don't remember asking."</p><p>"Most of the people here live alone."</p><p>"Really?" Dae-shim perked up.</p><p>"Yeah," Eun solemnly replied.</p><p>After another brief silence, I asked Eun, "So, what's your brother like?"</p><p>"My brother? Uh... well..." Eun hesitated. "He's really smart, but he didn't do that well in school. He was basically a loner at school because of all that geeky stuff he's into. He's not exactly the kind of brother you'd be proud to have."</p><p>"Well, were you embarrassed of him?" Dae-shim asked.</p><p>"What?" Eun perked up upon hearing his question.</p><p>"Were you embarrassed of him?" Dae-shim repeated.</p><p>"Of course I was!" Eun exclaimed. "You have no idea...! Ugh! Like this one time, some friends came over to our house to hang out and he totally flipped out because one of my friends accidentally dropped one of his stupid action figures."</p><p>"I guess nobody likes having a loser for a brother, huh?" I sighed.</p><p>"I mean, my brother wasn't a loser. He was just has a way of getting back at people who mess with him," Eun replied.</p><p>"Still..." I muttered.</p><p>"If my brother were a loser... hmm, would I be embarrassed? Well, first of all, I'm his sister, so it's bound to affect, me, too."</p><p>"I knew it," I muttered again.</p><p>"But," Eun continued. "Still, he's my brother. He can't help the way he is, right? No matter what kind of person he is, I might not like him, but I don't hate him."</p><p>"Isn't that the same thing?" I pointed out.</p><p>"Not all," Eun replied. "Actually come to think of it, who cares if he embarrassed me a bit when we were little? After all, we're family."</p><p>I was stunned upon hearing this.</p><p>"You're right, girl," Dae-shim agreed. "Besides, family mean accepting one another's quirks, right, Hyun?"</p><p>I still remained in stunned silence.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>3rd Person POV</strong> </span>
</p><p>In the fitness room, Seon is sleeping by the corner with a blanket draped over her body when Hyein approached her with a Molotov cocktail and a lighter.</p><p>"I'm scared... I'm so goddamn scared..." Hyein hesitated as she activated the lighter and lit up the cocktail. "I can't just sit around waiting for you to turn into a monster... Still, I didn't tell anyone else about you being a monster. I want to put you out your misery myself, just like I promised. And you know what I thought when he smashed that bastard's head in? 'Good for her taking out the trash.' It's time to get rid of you, too, since you're one of them now."</p><p>However, unbeknownst to her, a certain bandaged guy, with bleeding nose and bloodshot eyes, crept slowly towards her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Another Plan (Part 2)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Hyun's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Flashback 1 Start</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <em>I got home after I received another beating from my bully at school.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'm home..." I said after opening the door to our condominium. I noticed that no one is watching TV in the living room. I then headed over to my sister's room.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hey, Sua. I brought you some snacks," I said before I began knocking on her door. Suddenly, I started hearing her talking from inside.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"People are saying Hyun's brother? Who said that?! Who's the bitch going around telling people that? Is it Jiyeon? Ugh... no way. We're not related. I don't even have a brother," Sua ranted.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I was surprised from what I've heard. Does Sua hate me that much?</em>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Flashback 1 End</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>I still remember her words to that day. I even remembered the recent incidents, from Ms. Lim turning into a monster baby, Jayhun's near-death experience with Mr. Kim, as well as Eun getting injured in the same fight.</p><p>"Family..." I muttered as I took out Jisu's phone</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Flashback 2 Start</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <em>"Are you really just giving me this phone?" I asked Jisu.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yeah. I feel like you'll need the monster detector more than me," Jisu replied. "You know, Hyuk's really got it out for you. Besides..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She turned her head as she blushed before continuing, "I recorded that song I came up with and put it on there for you. It would be great if you and Dae-shim could listen to it..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Thanks."</em>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Flashback 2 End</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>I played the recorded music and I can say that it was a beautiful tune.</p><p>"A family, huh...?" I muttered as I turned to the window. I suddenly felt something on my shoulder. I turned to see Dae-shim standing beside me. He gave a smile, which I returned.</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>3rd Person POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>As Hyein prepared to burn Seon alive, Jay, still bandaged up and with a bleeding nose and bloodshot eyes, crept towards her from behind. She turned to see his creepy presence now closer to her face.</p><p>"<strong>My dream...</strong>" the now-monsterized Jay groweled.</p><p>"Wh-What?!" Hyein gasped in shock.</p><p>"<strong>It's ruined now. I tried so hard but it's all over.</strong>"</p><p>"Wh-What are you talking about?" Hyein asked as tears start to well up in her eyes.</p><p>"<strong>LOOK AT ME...!</strong>" Jay snarled as he grabbed her shoulders, causing her to scream in pain from his grasp and fear from seeing his face.</p><p>"<strong>I SAID LOOK AT ME!</strong>"</p><p>Seon woke up to see monster-Jay attempting to harass Hyein.</p><p>"Hyein!" the woman gasped upon witnessing what's going on.</p><p>"No! No, no!" Hyein begged Jay to let her go as Seon ran towards them to pry Jay off.</p><p>"Let go of Hyein, you monster!" Seon exclaimed.</p><p>Hyein pushed Jay away before panting from the trauma of being harassed.</p><p>"Are you okay?!" Seon asked.</p><p>"<strong>Me...? A monster?</strong>" Jay demanded before turning to the mirror behind me. He gazed at his refection and was shocked at what happened to him. "<strong>What's going on...? My face... M-My face... MY BEAUTIFUL FACE!</strong>"</p><p>Seon knocked him out with the same wooden stick she used to knock her husband out, before asking, "Hyein... are you okay?"</p><p>She then noticed her holding a Molotov cocktail.</p><p>"What are you doing with that? Put that down. It's only dan-"</p><p>"I have to kill you now," Hyein interrupted with a broken smile.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"Before you turn into a monster, I mean..."</p><p>Seon gasped as she remembered her husband's words.</p><p>"Hyein...?" Seon tried to say something but Hyein kicked her to the wall. Jay came to and noticed what's happening.</p><p>"Sorry, Seon. But you asked for this," she said as she threw the bottle over to Seon, who caught it at the last of second.</p><p>"I trusted you and this is what I get for telling you everything? You try to burn me to death?" Seon angrily asked.</p><p>"I... I didn't do anything wrong," Hyein replied hesitantly. "We can't just ignore it anymore! I'm already freaked out enough as it is because of that punk over there. We can't keep letting monsters stay here!"</p><p>"What? Monsters? I'm not a monster yet!"</p><p>"Than what was that just now?!"</p><p>Seon remained silent as she didn't say anything.</p><p>Hyein sighed, "Sorry, I'm a coward but I'm trying to keep my promise. I could've told the others you're a monster, but I didn't. I thought the best thing would be to finish you off myself. Just like you finished off your husband, Seon. I'm just doing what I have to do."</p><p>She then inhaled deeply.</p><p>"You could turn into a monster someday, too, you know," Seon explained as she furrowed her eyebrows.</p><p>"I'll kill myself if it ever comes to that," Hyein replied.</p><p>"No, I bet you won't admit it yourself."</p><p>"Don't be so sure."</p><p>"You'll do whatever it takes to survive."</p><p>"You don't know that!"</p><p>"Like the pathetic coward you are!"</p><p>"What's going on in here?!" Wook demanded as he opened the door, letting himself, Jisu, Dae-shim, and Hyun inside.</p><p>"Seon," Hyein said as she pointed to Seon, "...has become a monster now."</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Jay's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>After this, Hyein sent me and Seon to the forbidden room, where they locked us up because we were accused of turning into monsters.</p><p>I began to speak up, "Ma'am, did I say anything weird when I turned into a monster?"</p><p>"Don't you even know what your deepest desire is?" Seon asked me.</p><p>"My only desire right now would be nice, fluffy soufflé pancakes with whipped cream and a cool glass of lemon iced tea," I replied.</p><p>"I'm sorry to tell you, but your real desire wasn't quite so sweet and innocent."</p><p>"Oh..." I muttered before asking. "Did you hear?"</p><p>"About what?" Seon asked me back.</p><p>"Those two kids, Hyun and Dae-shim told us before... that if you turn into a monster, you can go on living in your mind with the one thing you really desire."</p><p>"But the real you will go around killing people as a monster."</p><p>"Still, at least you'll be walking around happy, right?"</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Dae-shim's POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>"All right. I fixed it!" Dusik said as he finally repaired our weapons. Hyun, Jisu, Jayhun, and I tested them and they were a good as new.</p><p>"Who wants this? It's too heavy for me to carry," Seop complained as he carried another shield, that looked exactly like the one Jayhun has.</p><p>"I'll take it," Hyun said. "I can use it."</p><p>We then proceeded to climb down to get to the elevator at the ground floor.</p><p>"Just stick to the plan. I mean, we'll be fine okay?" Hyuk said.</p><p>"You sure dream big, huh?" Seop piped up. "Are you trying to be the President someday or what?"</p><p>"No, I want to be Saber's husband," Hyuk jokingly replied, much to Seop's confusion.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"I'd take Maria over Saber," Hyun added.</p><p>"I wouldn't mind Maria either," Hyuk nodded.</p><p>"So would I," I chimed in.</p><p>The three of us shared a brief silence.</p><p>"What're you three idiots talking about?" Wook asked us.</p><p>"Nothing," I said before we headed to the elevator. Hyun, Yuri, and I put on our earphones to detect any monsters nearby.</p><p>"Hyun, do you hear anything?" Jisu asked Hyun.</p><p>"Not yet," Hyun replied before turning to Yuri. "What about you, Yuri?"</p><p>"Same here," Yuri replied before asking me, "Got anything from you, Dae-shim?"</p><p>"Nothing," I answered.</p><p>"Stay alert," Jisu said. "There should be three of them around here somewhere."</p><p>"Did they leave? Good riddance," Hyuk then proceeded to open the elevator door.</p><p>"No, wait!" Hyun and I exclaimed as Hyuk turned to us.</p><p>"What is it?" Hyun asked.</p><p>"They're not gone," Hyun replied.</p><p>"They're still in the parking lot," I added.</p><p>"Are they... asleep?" Hyuk asked again.</p><p>"Yeah," Hyun replied. "Our phones don't pick up on them when they're asleep."</p><p>"They must give off a jamming signal when they're sleeping," Hyuk pointed out.</p><p>"Looks like it. It appears that the monsters don't want their guards lowered while asleep, so they must've voluntarily put themselves off the radar to avoid detection," I deduced.</p><p>"Well? Should we stick to the plan?" Wook asked.</p><p>"Let's kill those bastards," Hyuk answered.</p><p>"Kill of them?" Jisu asked in surprise. "But there are three of them."</p><p>"Killing them might be less risky than trying to chase them away," Hyuk replied.</p><p>"I agree," Hyun chimed in.</p><p>"Yeah," Wook complied. "Might as well kill them while we can."</p><p>"Is everyone on the same page?" Hyuk asked all of us.</p><p>I wanted to say them that I want to save the monsters since I can tell that they used to be human but I couldn't.</p><p><em>"What are you waiting for? Are you gonna tell them that you want to save both people and monsters?"</em> my inner soul said to me.</p><p>"I was gonna but I can't let any of them know about my motives. They'll think I'm a no-good fucking hypocrite," I replied quietly so no one can hear me. "Plus, I'm worried they'll find out about my cure."</p><p><em>"Fine, whatever,"</em> my inner soul sighed. <em>"But if you use that cure on any of the monsters in that parking lot while with them, it's on you."</em></p><p>And with that, Hyun, Hyuk, Jisu, Jayhun, Seop, Wook, Yuri, and I headed down to the basement parking lot. Yuri, Jayhun, and I stayed behind as the rest of us slowly and quietly approached the three monsters. Hyuk raised his hand and Hyun, Wook, Jisu, and Seop lit their Molotov cocktails. He then curled his hand to a fist and they readied their bottles. Hyuk then lowered his hand and they threw the Molotov cocktails at the monsters, letting them burn.</p><p>The monsters woke up and attacked us. Thankfully, Hyun, Jisu, Wook, and Seop were able to hold them off.</p><p>"I've lived more than long enough, and yet here I am, still alive, while you burn to death..." Seop muttered with a cold tone. "Sorry."</p><p>"Are they dead?" Jisu asked while staring the monster she just burned.</p><p>"Let's make sure," I said as Jayhun, Yuri, Hyuk, and I extinguished the monsters Seop, Hyun, and Wook had burned.</p><p>"That was easier than I thought," Yuri said.</p><p>"Yeah," Hyuk agreed. "We're lucky all of them were asleep."</p><p>"Hey, Jisu. We're almost done here. How's everything over there?" Hyun asked.</p><p>"Same," Jisu answered. "I think we're done here, too."</p><p>I then noticed her still staring at the still-burning monster.</p><p>"What's wrong, Jisu?" I asked her.</p><p>"That's strange," Jisu muttered. "It's empty."</p><p>"Empty?" Jayhun asked.</p><p>"Jisu! Look up!" We heard Dusik from a nearby speaker.</p><p>We all looked up to see a huge slug-like monster gazing at Jisu. Jisu ducked down to avoid its hand, but not without acquiring an open wound on her shoulder and falling on the ground.</p><p>Upon seeing her on the ground, I remembered the time we were attacked by Mr. Kim, with two residents meeting their deaths at his hands.</p><p>"Jisu!" I ran up to her but somehow, I couldn't. I felt something holding my feet down.</p><p>"What's going on?" I looked down to see that I'm ankle-deep in some kind of slime pool, where the ground should be. Suddenly, many eyes start appearing from the slime.</p><p><em>"Did you think you were the one who can control me?"</em> the same inner voice from before said.</p><p>"What?!" I angrily asked.</p><p>
  <em>"You can't save her."</em>
</p><p>"What the hell did you mean?!"</p><p>
  <em>"You can't save anyone."</em>
</p><p>Just then, I saw the bodies of Hyun, Jisu, Hyuk, Yuri, Wook, Seop, and Jayhun lying on the ground in cold blood.</p><p>
  <em>"Face it. You can only save yourself."</em>
</p><p>"Go to hell," I muttered.</p><p>
  <em>"You asked me before, remember? You asked me about who I am."</em>
</p><p>"Don't even think about telling me what to do and what not to do."</p><p>
  <em>"So, I thought about your question. I thought about who I am."</em>
</p><p>"I can save her. I can save those I care about. I can do this, even without your words of foolishness."</p><p>
  <em>"And I came to a conclusion. I'm... I'm..."</em>
</p><p>"Just shut up, okay?" I said as I cracked my whip to scare the eyes away. "Hang on, Jisu, I'm coming-"</p><p>As I came to my senses, I noticed Wook, Jayhun, Seop, Yuri, and Hyuk fighting the monster, incapacitating it with a fire extinguisher, slashing its arm off, and burning it to the ground. I even noticed Hyun standing on his spot, watching the whole thing happen in front of him.</p><p><em>'I guess there are things in life that I can't change. But I can't just stay at the side and watch as all the people I know and love fight out there and risk losing their own lives. Not today, not tomorrow, not anymore,'</em> I thought to myself as I watched the slug monster burn to the ground in ashes.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Taking a Little Breather</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>3rd Person POV</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>A few minutes after stopping the parking lot monsters, all the residents decided to take a little breather for the time being. Jayhun and Jisu are doing a pre-recorded video message for the latter's loved ones with a video camera.</p><p>"Is it working?" Jisu asked.</p><p>"Maybe it's broken. It's pretty old," Jayhun replied.</p><p>"Try smacking it."</p><p>Jayhun did so and the camera got a good shot of Jisu.</p><p>"Oh, it's working," he said. "All right, go ahead."</p><p>"Okay... uh..." Jisu stammered as she blushed.</p><p>"Come on, hurry up!" Jayhun beckoned.</p><p>"Sure," Jisu replied nervously before she started speaking. "So... we found this old camcorder in the storage room. So we decided to film an interview with everyone. One person at a time. I guess we could have used one of our phones but I thought this felt a bit more... retro. Anyway, I'm not sure if anyone will ever actually see this video, but whoever you are, I love you."</p><p>She ended the video message with a Korean heart sign.</p><hr/><p>At the parking lot, Dusik, Hyuk, Wook, Yuri, and Seop helped in adding some armor to the car.</p><p>"How's it going?" Hyuk asked.</p><p>"I think we've got enough parts and materials," Dusik replied as he welded a metal sheet to the car's bumper.</p><p>"Good."</p><p>"But I can't guarantee this car will protect us from the monsters. Even after I finish working on it. They all have totally different strengths."</p><p>"Just do your best. That's enough."</p><p>"Easy for you to say, kid. Oh well, at least I get to work in a nice big space like this."</p><p>"It sure beats the security guard's office, huh?"</p><hr/><p>Inside the storage room, Byeong-Il, Sangsu, and Ji-Eun are gathered for a small talk.</p><p>"I gathered you all here because there's an important problem we need to talk about," Byeong-Il said. "Right now, we're all basically starving."</p><p>"I guess it's like going on a forced diet," Sangsu commented in agreement.</p><p>"Well, what if there were actually plenty of food?" Byeong-Il asked rhetorically.</p><p>"What?" Ji-Eun was surprised at this.</p><p>"What if that kid, the thug bastard, and their little friends are actually hoarding food for themselves?"</p><p>"What? No way."</p><p>"I'm telling you! It's possible! Remember when they rescued that cripple? You all saw the boxes of food they had right? Where the hell did all that food go?"</p><p>Ji-Eun and Sangsu looked at each other in uncertainty before the latter spoke up, "There must be some reason for it. Hyuk's a really smart kid."</p><p>"I bet that little shit thinks we're a bunch of parasites. He never lets us do anything important," Byeong-Il gritted his teeth.</p><p>"Would you even have the guts to do anything important?" Ji-Eun retorted.</p><p>"Ji-Eun... Before, I was just..."</p><p>"And I'm sure he's got a plan. He's got us this far, after all."</p><p>This made Byeong-Il shook to the very core.</p><p>"My God... once the convenience store runs out of food, do you really think they're going to share the food they've been hiding from us? Are you just naïve or just stupid?"</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"They'll eat it all themselves! And then, whoever has the food will have all the power! They might make us their slaves!"</p><p>"Hey, Byeing-Il! Calm down," Sangsu said but his words fell on deaf ears as Byeong-Il kept on ranting.</p><p>"They might send us all on a dangerous mission! You're a young lady, Ji-Eun. That disgusting thug might do something horrible to you!"</p><p>"Come on..." Ji-Eun retorted. "You're getting carried away. He would never..."</p><p>Byeong-Il got even more shaken than he previously was.</p><p>"Let's not get too paranoid. That kind of thinking is exactly what turns people against each other," Ji-Eun continued. "In these kinds of situations, if you don't stick together, you're dead. Don't you ever watch movies?"</p><p>"Ugh...! Damnit, you guys are so damn clueless!" Byeong-Il grumbled as he exited the storage room.</p><p>"Jeez... everyone's so overly sensitive," Ji-Eun said.</p><hr/><p>Outside, Byeong-Il angrily stomped away.</p><p><em>'Fuck, no one ever listens to me! Shit... Shit...!'</em> he thought to himself. <em>'I heard what they said!'</em></p><p>
  <strong>Flashback Start</strong>
</p><p>Several hours ago, at Z💬U, Hyuk entered the store saying, <em>"How are we doing with food?"</em></p><p><em>"We've got enough for another three days,"</em> Wook replied. <em>"We could stretch it out for a week if we really try."</em></p><p>
  <em>"We're basically down to eating crumbs at this point. Maybe half a pack of noodles on good days..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"How much longer is Dusik gonna take? Can he get it done before we run out of food?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"He should be done any day now..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Why don't we take Dusik's food now?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Not yet. If people find out about that food, they won't make the food last like they are now."</em>
</p><p><em>"Damnit!"</em> Wook exclaimed as he slammed his fist on the counter. <em>"Sorry. I haven't eaten much in the last few days. I must be kind of on edge."</em></p><p><em>"We all are,"</em> Hyuk replied.</p><p>
  <em>"Do you think we can survive this?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"We've made it this far, right?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I didn't say anything because I was worried it would discourage everyone... But if 'Operation Shopping' fails, we'll..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"That's right. We'll all starve to death. Unless, we start eating each other."</em>
</p><p>Little did they know is that Byeong-Il is listening to their conversation.</p><p>
  <strong>Flashback End</strong>
</p><hr/><p>At their hideout room, Hyun and Dae-shim are nibbling on some snacks that they brought along with them.</p><p>"Damnit..." Hyun muttered as he threw his now-empty bag of chips. Suddenly a box of crackers was thrown over to them.</p><p>"Jesus," Hyun groaned as he and Dae-shim looked over to see Hyuk at the entrance.</p><p>"Will you and your sister ever leave us alone?" Hyun asked rhetorically.</p><p>"Eat up," Hyuk said.</p><p>"If it's for another job that you assigned for us, then leave us out of it," Dae-shim disagreed.</p><p>"You've got way faster metabolism than other people. Besides, if you get too hungry, you might start eating people. We wouldn't want that, would we?" Hyuk retorted.</p><p>"You know, you're a douche, right?" Hyun said.</p><p>"Me?"</p><p>A while later, Hyun and Dae-shim ate the crackers that Hyuk gave them.</p><p>"We're not doing too well. You know that, right?" Hyuk pointed out.</p><p>"We kinda figured it out. The convenience store was expected to run out of food supply eventually," Dae-shim answered.</p><p>"What do you think we should do?" Hyuk asked, much to the two boys' surprise.</p><p>"Did you just ask us what we think?" Hyun said out of shock.</p><p>"Yeah, I wanna know what you two think."</p><p>"'We can't stand this son of a bitch.'" Dae-shim guessed.</p><p>"Okay, aside from that," Hyuk commented.</p><p>"Dae-shim and I don't have any problems with your 'Operation Shopping'. We may not like you but you're usually right," Hyun retorted. "So what's the plan so far?"</p><p>"There's a convenience store 300 meters from here, and the grocery store's a kilometer away. The hospital's around two and a half kilometers away," Hyuk explained. "The convenience store's the closest. For now, I'm just thinking of how to make it that far..."</p><p>"300 meters, huh...? Are you sure we can make it?" Dae-shim asked.</p><p>"If we don't, we're doomed."</p><hr/><p>At Z💬U, Wook is sitting idly at the counter while reading a magazine.</p><p>"This is so boring," he commented before throwing the magazine aside.</p><p>He then noticed the screen beside him. It was still all static.</p><p>"Looks like even that pirate station's offline now."</p><p>Just then, Byeong-Il entered the store.</p><p>"Hi, Wook. I'm here for my daily ration," he said.</p><p>"Oh, sure," Wook then reached for his bag but realized something. "Hey, you already got your food this morning."</p><p>Caught off-guard, Byeong-Il tried to cover up his motives, "I'm just really hungry... Can you just give me a bit more...?"</p><p>"If I start making exceptions for people, we'll be out of food in no time. Get out of here."</p><p>"Come on. Why are you being like that? We're all in this together."</p><p>"I said get out. Don't piss me off."</p><p>Surprised at this, Byeong-Il changed his expression to anger.</p><p>"Fuck you," he muttered as took out a box cutter. "I said give me the goddamn food. I know you fuckers are hiding food back there. I know all about it."</p><p>Wook let out smirk, "You're sure brave for someone who runs off even at the sight of monsters."</p><p>"W-What?!"</p><p>"Think you can scare me with a little knife?"</p><p>Trying to hold his rage in, Byeong-Il couldn't take it anymore. He dropped the box cutter and proceeded to beat Wook. Fortunately, Wook was able to punch him to the fridges.</p><p>"Damnit... you people have no fucking idea."</p><p>"About what?"</p><p>"How it feels to have your life in someone else's hands. Is that 'Operation Shopping' or whatever really gonna work?!"</p><p>"With the world that way it is, how can we know anything for sure?"</p><p>Byeong-Il got up, leaning on the door to keep himself standing.</p><p>"I'm going, too," he said.</p><p>Wook glared at him in confusion.</p><p>"Let me in," Byeong-Il yelled. "I wanna help with the operation."</p><p>"Aren't you forgetting something?" Wook asked, showing the box cutter Byeong-Il discarded. "You should take better care of your stuff. Sorry for hitting you."</p><p>"It's fine, really. And sorry for making you hit me."</p><hr/><p>Meanwhile, Hyein was just walking down the hallway when she ran into Ji-Eun and Sangsu.</p><p>"Hey, guys," she said to them.</p><p>"Hi," Sangsu greeted back as he and Ji-Eun continued walking, much to Hyein's dismay.</p><p>She then went to the restroom to wash her face.</p><p><em>'Let's face it. I'm not a likable person at all,'</em> Hyein thought to herself as she looked at her own reflection and remembered her predicament with Seon.</p><p>"Maybe... maybe I'm the real monster," she said to herself.</p><p>Suddenly, all the lights in the building went out.</p><p>"Huh? What the?"</p><p>At the fitness room, Hyun, Dae-shim, Sook Yeong, Yuri, Ji-Eun, and Sangsu are resting on futons set out for them.</p><p>"The power went out..." Ji-Eun mused.</p><p>"Calm down, Ji-Eun. It'll be okay," Sangsu reassured her.</p><p>"What's gonna happen to us now? The water will probably cut off soon, too... I'm scared."</p><p>Hyuk then entered the room and sat beside Hyun.</p><p>"Everyone's freaked out about the power going out," Hyun said.</p><p>"I know," Hyuk replied. "It was only a matter of time. But electricity doesn't directly affect our survival. Running out of drinking water is a much bigger problem. That's why we're trying to collect as much drinking water as possible."</p><p>Sure enough, Jisu, Jayhun, Byeong-Il, and Wook are filling buckets and bottles with water from another restroom.</p><p>"I hope the water collected would be more than enough for us to use," Dae-shim mused, bringing his knees closer to his head.</p><p>"Must be nice being so cold about everything," Hyun pointed out.</p><p>After a brief silence, Hyun spoke up again, "Tell us something."</p><p>"What?" Hyuk asked.</p><p>"We're doomed aren't we?"</p><p>"..."</p><p>"Right?"</p><p>At the same time, Yuri used her inhaler as Seop looked at her in concern.</p><p>"So what?" Jisu asked as she entered the room with two bottles of water. "Should we all just kill ourselves together since we're done for anyway?"</p><p>"Jisu..." Dae-shim muttered.</p><p>"Suicide is just about the stupidest thing people are capable of," Jisu continued as Dae-shim remembered this one time, when he was resting in Hyun's apartment.</p><p><em>'I remember this one time. In Hyun's apartment, I saw those scars on his wrists. And the way he talks about killing himself on October 25 after watching 'Maria from the Sky'. Was he really planning to commit suicide? And he didn't tell me?'</em> Dae-shim asked in his mind as he glanced over to Hyun and the scars on his wrists.</p><p>"With the world gone to hell like this, there's no such thing as the perfect plan. All we can do is just survive. We may die tomorrow, but we hang for today. After all, we're still alive right now," Jisu finished.</p><hr/><p>At the parking lot, Dusik put on a prosthesis on his amputated right leg and entered the armor car while Eun watches him nearby. He pressed on the start button and began driving the vehicle into a wooden life-sized dummy that looked like the blind monster Eun and Wook had killed earlier.</p><p>"Woo-hoooooo! Bring it on!" Dusik exclaimed with determination. "You goddamn monsters!"</p><p>He drove straight towards the dummy, effectively shattering to splinters.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. Pressure</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Episode 28: Pressure</strong>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>3rd Person POV</strong> </span>
</p><p>
  <em>People can smile but when things take a turn for the worse, they become monsters.</em>
</p><p>Wook grabbed Hyuk by the collar.</p><p>"Hey, calm down!" Sangsu said, trying to ease the tension between the two.</p><p>"We have to get to a hospital! Yuri might die if we don't get her some EpiPens!" Wook exclaimed in desperation.</p><p>" We can't do that," Hyuk retaliated. "Our goal is only to get to the convenience store."</p><p>"You bastard!"</p><p>"It's not like she's had a seizure yet."</p><p>"You disgust us, Hyuk Lee," Dae-shim replied sullenly.</p><p>"How can you be so cold?" Hyun added. "Now who's the real monster? You or me?"</p><p>"Let's just take it one step at a time, guys," Jisu reassured them. "If we make it to the convenience store in one piece, we'll aim for the grocery store next. And if we get to the grocery store, we can try to get to the hospital, right? You shouldn't just say 'no' like that! At least consider the possibilities!"</p><p>"We can't put everyone in danger because of just one person," Hyuk said.</p><p>"Hyuk!" Wook exclaimed in pure rage.</p><p>Meanwhile, Sook and Yeong approached Yuri.</p><p>"Yuri... are you gonna die?" Yeong said while sobbing.</p><p>"No way. I'm still fine, Yeong," Yuri reassured him, but judging by her tone, she was uncertain.</p><p>"Please don't leave us..." Yeong continued sobbing as he hugged her. Hyun and Dae-shim looked at them as they reminisced about the previous monster attacks several days ago, including the security guard, Mr. Kim.</p><p>"I can't seem to figure it out," Hyun said as he stood up and turned to Hyuk. "Do whatever you want. I'll do whatever I want, too."</p><p>"What?" Hyuk asked.</p><p>"I'm not doing this operation. The reason you let me and Dae-shim live instead of kicking us out... The reason you threw us a bone... It was all for this moment, wasn't it?"</p><p>"Come on, don't be like that. I could still kick you both out if I have to."</p><p>"Well, who's gonna do that, then?" Dae-shim asked as he stood up. "You?"</p><p>Hyuk remained silent.</p><p>"Listen, Hyuk Lee. We're not gonna go around following your orders to survive. We have our own ways to get through this confusion, you know that."</p><p>Hyuk stayed silent for another minute.</p><p>"I won't do it," Wook spoke though gritted teeth as he is still concerned for Yuri's health.</p><p>"Fine," Hyuk said as he sighed in defeat. "Let's get to the hospital. Get ready, everyone."</p><hr/><p>At the parking lot, Wook entered the armored car through the driver's side. Hyun and Dae-shim brought in two boxes of Molotov cocktails just in case a horde of monsters showed up in the streets.</p><p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Flashback Start</strong> </span>
</p><p><em>"Now, listen,"</em> Dusik began the demonstration by showing the two red buttons on the steering wheel. <em>"The buttons on both sides of the steering wheel activate the left and right flamethrowers. There's no meter to show how much gas is left. So you'll just have to be careful not to use too much all at once. You can use if a monster comes right at you."</em></p><p>He then pointed to a gear at the overhead bin near the rear-view mirror, <em>"If you pull this gear on the roof all the way, it dumps the metal plate I made to plow through them."</em></p><p><em>"It dumps it?"</em> Wook asked.</p><p><em>"Yeah,"</em> Dusik replied. <em>"Jettisoning any spare weight we can is the last resort in case the monsters grab onto the car. It's only for an absolute emergency."</em></p><p>
  <em>"I hope we won't have to use it."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I tried to make the engine as quiet as possible. The car is really heavy with all this extra gear. Be careful not to push the engine too hard."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Got it."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Good."</em>
</p><p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Flashback End</strong> </span>
</p><p>Dae-shim, Byeong-Il, and Seop sat at the back passenger seats. Hyun, on the other hand, sat on the front passenger seat. Wook then started the engine as quietly as possible, causing the car to rattle.</p><p>"Hey, are you sure this isn't going to be too much for you?" Byeong-Il asked Seop.</p><p>"I'll worry about my own life, thank you. Don't get all scared and mess this up," Seop replied.</p><p>"Haha..." Byeong-Il laughed nervously. "This actually is kind of scary..."</p><p>"Want some booze?" Seop asked as he offered Byeong-il a bottle of beer. The latter accepted it and took a little drink.</p><p>"Hyun," Jisu said as she knocked on the right car window, which Hyun opened.</p><p>"I need you to do me a favor when you get back. The same goes for you, too, Dae-shim."</p><p>"What is it?" Dae-shim asked.</p><p>"Make sure you two come back in one piece," Jisu finished as Dae-shim nodded.</p><p>Wook then put the vehicle in drive and headed out.</p><p>"Good luck, guys," Yuri said as she waved at them. Byeong-Il couldn't help but feel disappointed as no one came to cheer him out.</p><p>"Good luck," Ji-Eun said from his side of the car. "Be safe."</p><p>Byeong-Il gave a thumbs-up in return.</p><p>"I'm opening the shutter. Get ready," Dusik said through the speaker.</p><p>"Ready, guys?" Wook turned to Hyun, Dae-shim, Byeong-Il, and Seop.</p><p>"Ready," Dae-shim replied as he and Hyun put on their earphones.</p><p>Dae-shim then checked the date as it read October 24. He then realized what this meant as he remembered something 18 days ago.</p><p>
  <em>"I am supposed to die in 19 days anyways."</em>
</p><p><em>'So, he's gonna commit suicide tomorrow,'</em> he thought to himself. <em>'And he didn't even tell me his reason. Well, I'm gonna ask him, even if he doesn't want to tell me.'</em></p><p>Hyun also checked the date and thought to himself, <em>'October 24th. I was supposed to kill myself tomorrow. I know Dae-shim wanted to know my reasons to commit suicide and I'm not gonna tell him directly, maybe write in a paper. And yet, I'm leaving this place to stay alive. At the time, what did I do wrong?'</em></p><p>He then remembered the hardships and dilemmas he had back in his school. He recalled the time he met the new kid but didn't know that this didn't end well for him. It is revealed that the new kid in his old school was the son of his dad's boss.</p><p>
  <em>'At that moment, if I didn't offer him my hand, would my life have turned out differently?'</em>
</p><p>He appeared to be enjoying Hyun's suffering and threatening Hyun to have his dad fired from his job if he ever hurt him. He also remembered beating his bullies left and right as payback for all the torture he had to go through the day. But he didn't have the guts to beat the new kid up since he couldn't risk getting his dad fired.</p><p>
  <em>'My dad convinced me. I hated my dad. My mom convinced me, too. I hated my mom, too. I hated my sister.'</em>
</p><p>When he told his parents about what happened, they couldn't report this to the principal and instead insisted on forgiving him. Even his sister didn't side with him. He felt like the people he knew and loved were turning their backs on them.</p><p>
  <em>'Ever since my dad visited my school, they've stopped picking on me. But I wasn't the same person as I used to be. That pissed me off more than anything.'</em>
</p><p>After some time, the rich kid and his cronies didn't bully him anymore but it didn't give him relief as he could only watch his schoolmates suffer.</p><p>
  <em>'I wanted to be a better person.'</em>
</p><p>One winter morning, he saw the rich kid telling a fat kid to jump into the busy road to get the money for the latter's mom's surgery. Hyun pushed the rich kid to the ground, as he didn't want the fat kid to suffer any more beatings for the sake of helping.</p><p>
  <em>'The next day, my dad lost his job.'</em>
</p><p>As a result, his dad lost his job, and the fat kid blamed him since he didn't get the money for his mom's surgery, resulting in her death. Ever since that day, he withdrew himself from everyone and lost his trust in them.</p><p>
  <em>'I can't do anything now. There's nothing I can do! But now...'</em>
</p><p>He then remembered the people he met in the apartment building: Dae-shim, Jisu, Dusik, Wook, Sook, Yeong, Byeong-Il, Seop, Yuri, Hyuk, and Eun.</p><p>
  <em>'NOW!'</em>
</p><p>"Alright, here we go!" Wook exclaimed as the car made out of the parking lot and into the open. Suddenly, Dae-shim and Hyun noticed a familiar presence at the corner.</p><p>"LOOK OUT!" Dae-shim screamed in terror as the muscle monster crossed paths with the car.</p><p>"<strong>PROTEIN...</strong>" it snarled before slamming the car's hood, knocking them out. Once Dae-shim came to, he noticed Wook unconscious with his face pressed against the airbag deployed from the steering wheel. He turned around and saw Byeong-Il, Seop, and Hyun outside the car. He got out as well to face the red angry monster.</p><p>"I-I shouldn't have come with..." Byeong-Il said while trembling with fright. "I should've just kept my mouth shut..."</p><p>"Oh no..." Dae-shim muttered in fear.</p><p>As the monster was about to stomp on Byeong-Il, Hyun and Dae-shim pushed him out of the foot's way.</p><p><em>'How is this possible?'</em> Dae-shim thought. <em>'I thought we had him.'</em></p><p><em>'Fuck. How the hell did he survive that fall...?'</em> Hyun muttered in his head.</p><p>"<strong>IT'S... YOU... TWO...</strong>" the muscle monster saw the two boys as Byeong-Il ran off.</p><p>"Hey! Where are you going?!" Hyun attempted to call out to the man.</p><p>"<strong>MUSCLE...!</strong>" the muscle monster tried to attack the two boys but before they readied their weapons, they heard a Molotov cocktail breaking on the monster's back. It was Seop who threw the bottle.</p><p>"Hey, asshole!" he yelled. "I'm the one you want!"</p><p>"Mr. Ahn, don't do it!" Dae-shim exclaimed worriedly.</p><p>The muscle monster jumped onto the car to face Seop. He then threw another Molotov cocktail at it, but then his body gave out.</p><p>"Someone light that fucker on fire!" Seop exclaimed as Hyun and Dae-shim attacked them with their weapons. Unfortunately, their weapons seemed to have no effect on it. In retaliation, the muscle monster grabbed them and threw them in two separate directions, with Hyun on the ground beside the body of Sook and Yeong's dad and Dae-shim into the apartment building's wall. They were thrown with such force that they started bleeding out and acquired bruises.</p><p>"What's that sound?" Jisu said as she and Eun peeked out the window. "What's going on out there?!"</p><p>"...Looks like they failed," Hyuk concluded sadly.</p><p>"That's impossible!" Yuri contradicted. "They just left!"</p><p>"Shit."</p><p>"If they're gonna last another minute like this, I don't think they'll last much longer," Jayhun deducted worriedly.</p><p>As Dae-shim woke up from brief unconsciousness, he coughed up some blood and noticed the kids' dead father nearby.</p><p>"It's the kids' dad," Dae-shim whispered. "Hyun and I promised the kids we'd give you a proper funeral. But I felt like this promise will be broken anytime."</p><p>Meanwhile, Hyuk, Jisu, Yuri, Eun, Jayhun, Sangsu armed themselves as Yuri stayed behind with the kids.</p><p>"Let's go, guys," Hyuk said. "Grab something to fight with."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Big news, Sweet Home fans. The Netflix version of the webcomic is coming soon! 🥳🥳🥳</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Author's Note: Feel free to bookmark this story and leave comments and kudos but REMEMBER: NO signs of negativity or any profanity; this is the first time I wrote a fanfiction story based on a manhwa (Korean comics). You know I despise both of these.</p><p>Legend:</p><p>"..." - normal conversation, sign language</p><p>'...' - thoughts</p><p>"..." - conversation in flashback, dream, inner voice</p><p>"..." - monster</p></blockquote></div></div>
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